President Trump said he would run for a third term if he could — and believes he would win.
Mr. Trump revealed his ambitions on the “Pod Force One” podcast, where he also promoted the state of the economy days before Tuesday’s midterm elections that have the Republican Party fearing a wipeout.
“I’d love to run again, if I had the chance,” Mr. Trump said. “But the language is very exacting.”
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The president referred to the 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, which prevents a president from being elected “more than twice.”
Mr. Trump said that even though he is blocked from winning another term, if he ran again, he would win.
“They had a poll the other day where I’d beat everybody by so much,” he said.
Political analysts say Republicans face losing control of the House and the Senate, primarily because of high costs and Mr. Trump’s low approval rating.
The GOP base, however, remains loyal to Mr. Trump. The most recent polling published by NBC News last week found the president holds a 93% approval rating among Republican voters who align with the MAGA movement.
Mr. Trump, 80, has talked repeatedly about running for another term. At his rallies, loyal supporters wear Trump 2028 hats. But in the podcast interview, the president acknowledged the legal limitations.
“I’d love to run, but it’s fine,” he said. “You know, we have more than two year left. That’s a long time. We can do a lot in that period of time.”
Mr. Trump said his message to voters ahead of Tuesday is that under his presidency and Republican control of Congress, there are many positive economic indicators.
“I go over numbers when I make these speeches,” Mr. Trump said, his voice hoarse from conducting dozens of rallies in battleground states. “And I say your individual income is the highest it’s ever been. I said poverty numbers are the single best, meaning they’re the best. Poverty is a bad thing, but poverty is poverty, and we have the best numbers we’ve ever had. We have more jobs than we’ve ever had in the history of our country by far. In other words, more people are working right now than ever. Our military is the strongest. We’re manufacturing again.”
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