Photo taken from the times.com.
The political issues and landscape of America and the world have never been more important than they are now. Among all these political issues, one of the most significant is the 2028 election.
The 2028 election is a concerning issue for some Americans due to Donald Trump’s mixed claims that either he does not want an election in 2028 or he will be running in 2028. While some Americans are not taking these claims by Trump seriously because of how far-fetched they seem, many anti-Trump political figures are urging us to take them seriously. When California Governor Gavin Newsom was talking about the rumors that Trump and his administration do not want a 2028 election, with late-night TV host Stephen Colbert, Newsom said, “I fear we will not have an election in 2028 unless we wake up.” Besides Governor Newsom, anti-Trump political figures with huge platforms like AOC, Bernie Sanders, Barack Obama, Kamala Harris, and many others have all spoken up about this concern and are taking it extremely seriously.
I believe that we, as Americans, have to take Trump’s 2028 election claims seriously because I fear that the consequence of not taking these claims seriously could be the end of democracy in America. Many students whom I interviewed shared the same concerns as myself, including an anonymous student who said, “After hearing the news that Trump might be running in 2028 and that he might not even want an election in 2028, I have become even more scared for the democracy of the country and my own personal freedom.”
It seems more recently that Trump has steered away from the idea of not having an election in 2028 and instead has been more focused on the idea of his running in 2028. Trump has claimed many times that he will possibly run in 2028. Despite these claims, Trump, though, is still giving mixed signals. In an interview with NBC News, Trump told the news station that “he was not joking about considering a third term.” A couple of weeks before Trump’s recent Gaza peace deal, Randy Fine, who is a republican house representative from Florida, said that if Trump gets a peace deal done with Gaza, then he should be allowed to serve a third term in 2028. Fine’s claim inspired Steve Bannon, who was senior adviser to Trump during his first administration. Bannon, being inspired by Fine’s claim, led him to say many concerning things about Trump running in 2028 in an interview on NewsNation’s Batya!. Bannon said “that there are many different ways that would allow the president to serve again.” Bannon then added on, “I fully intend to see President Trump on the ballot in 2028 and to return to office, to continue the great run he’s had as the 47th president.”
I believe that ideas like this from Trump allies will only rile up MAGA Americans with hope for 2028 and give them the idea that the laws do not apply to Trump and themselves. I believe that when you implant the idea that the laws do not apply in the heads of a group of people, it has the possibility of breeding violence. In 2021, we saw the January 6th Capitol attack by MAGA supporters, which was partly inspired by the idea that the laws of our country do not apply to them. An anonymous student said, “If Donald Trump keeps on spreading these ideas that the laws do not apply to him, we could see something similar to January 6th, 2021.” In my opinion, Trump wanting either to run in 2028 or not wanting an election in 2028 gives us a deeper insight into Trump’s personality and mindset. An anonymous student said, “I believe that this again proves how Trump cares more about power, prestige, and material success than the well-being of the American people.”
There is one main way Trump can run in 2028. This way would be repealing the 22nd amendment. This would require a vote by two-thirds of the votes in Congress or two-thirds of the US states to call for a change to the Constitution. Both of these scenarios are extremely unlikely. Again, though Trump’s plan for 2028 is still unclear, as he told CNBC’s Squawk Box in August that he would “probably not run again.” Only time will tell whether we will truly know whether Trump wants to run in 2028 or if he even wants an election in 2028, but I suggest in the meantime, we take these claims seriously and realize the consequences of what could happen if we don’t.