The White House said the United States would be "lucky" if US President Donald Trump remained in office longer, after lawyer Alan Dershowitz told the Wall Street Journal that he had shared a draft of his new book, which explores the possibility of a third presidential term, UNN reports with reference to Axios.
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Trump and his administration have repeatedly hinted at the possibility of running in 2028, despite the fact that the 22nd Amendment to the country's constitution prohibits presidents from being elected to a third term.
"There has never been an administration that has accomplished as much in less than one year as the Trump administration," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an email Thursday.
"The American people would be lucky if President Trump stayed in office even longer," she said.
The White House did not immediately respond to an Axios request for comment Wednesday evening asking whether the president plans to run for another term.
In an interview published Thursday, Dershowitz told the WSJ that he advised Trump: "It's unclear whether a president can become president for a third term, and it's unclear whether that's permissible," though he added, "I don't think he'll run for a third term."
Dershowitz's book, "Can President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?" is due out next year.
He previously served as Trump's lawyer during the first impeachment trial of the US president and told the WSJ that he informed Trump that the constitution does not contain clear information about the possibility of another term. The US president plans to read his draft, he added.
Trump's chief of staff, Susie Wiles, in her interview with Vanity Fair, published on Tuesday, refuted suggestions that Trump would violate the 22nd Amendment, though she said he "gets a kick" out of knowing his comments "drive people crazy."
House Speaker Republican Mike Johnson said in October that he "sees no path" for Trump to run in the 2028 election, prompting the US president to admit that it's "pretty obvious" he can't be elected again.
However, Trump previously insisted that he was "not joking" about a third term and "would love" to run for president again.
His Trump Store even started selling a "Trump 2028" hat this year, encouraging supporters to "make a statement."
Dershowitz told the WSJ that one scenario in which Trump could become president again could involve Congress potentially determining the final results.
Dershowitz theorizes that if Trump were declared the winner of another election, members of the Electoral College could abstain from voting when they meet to cast their ballots, ultimately leaving the election to Congress.
"He found it interesting as an intellectual question," Dershowitz told the WSJ.