Republican President Donald Trump said on Sunday he was not joking about seeking a third presidential term, which is barred by the U.S. Constitution, but that it was too early to think about doing so.

Trump, who took office on January 20 for his second, non-consecutive White House term, has made vague allusions to seeking a third one but addressed it directly on Sunday in a telephone interview with NBC News.

“No, I’m not joking. I’m not joking,” Trump said, but “it is far too early to think about it.”

“There are, there are methods which you could do it, as you know,” he said. He declined to elaborate on any specific methods.

236 points

We know he is not joking.

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93 points

He has zero sense of humour: an inherent inability to recognize or invoke it.

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22 points

He has zero sense of humour: an inherent inability to recognize or invoke it.

There is a humor-like mocking of watching human beings suffer at the hands of government and business systems, “human tears”, “liberal tears”, “Ukraine tears”, values of winning and defeating humanism with systems of power. Donald Trump is very motivated and works many hours to socially arrange this domination and damage over human persons that don’t please his ego.

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7 points

That’s called sadism

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11 points

Most psychopaths don’t have a sense of humor. They can imitate what they think is considered having one but they don’t actually have one.

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5 points

He really is a psychopath, he shows the warning signs. He can’t have a proper sense of humour when he doesn’t have normal emotions

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8 points

But he knows his followers defend him by always claiming he’s joking and he’s wanting everyone to know for sure he means it

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6 points

And it hasn’t even been 6 months yet

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I hate to break it to you but it’s been less than 10 weeks.

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145 points
*

The strategy is really simple, and I don’t know why it isn’t obvious to everyone. The Republican party will simply refuse to run a candidate in 2028. They will claim that the country is under hostile occupation by Marxists who are attempting to destroy the United States from within and Trump will just refuse to leave office after the mid-terms (if we even make it that far before he declares war & martial law).

They don’t need to cancel, manipulate, or legally challenge anything. At that point, it doesn’t fucking matter what happens with the election because there is no legal mechanism to enforce the removal of the regime. They are going to dare the courts, the police, and the military to try and forcibly remove them, which we all know will not happen. Then just rule by fiat forever.

The End.

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58 points

I guess that’s why he’s trying to get into a war.

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37 points

Oh 100%, this is dictatorial coup 101

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3 points

I mean the U.S. even held elections during a Civil War, I don’t think fighting overseas is going to change anything.

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42 points

Literally the farthest the conspiracy theories went in 2012 is where we’re headed. Martial law, false flags, posse comitatus, seizing guns.

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18 points

“Every accusation is an admission” and whatnot…

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28 points

They’ll probably do something more stupid than that, like replacing him with one of his sons with the promise that daddy Trump will keep running everything regardless

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19 points

Perhaps. I think it is much more likely that Thiel & Musk attempt to wait Trump’s death out and then install Vance, which will ultimately be the crescendo that causes large scale civil unrest because everybody fucking hates him.

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15 points

Then just rule by fiat forever. The End.

I don’t think it actually ends that way, but I think you’re right about them aiming for it

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7 points
*

To be clear, I agree with you. I was being hyperbolic about the “rule forever” part because nothing last forever.

However, I think they are drunk enough on their own power to believe they can outlast all of us, and it remains to be seen, in the short term, whether they are right…

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5 points

Sounds like the movie Civil War.

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3 points

Life imitates art, and the truth is usually stranger than fiction…

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4 points
*

I still have some hope that if there is an overwhelming support for democrats in the midterms, crisis might be averted. It will have to be overwhelming support, because the GOP are going to play every dirty trick possible to cancel elections, jail candidates, etc.

If that happens, impeachment and removal actually becomes possible. And, even if he isn’t impeached, a democrat controlled legislature could reassert their power and take his away. After all, these “executive orders” he keeps issuing are nothing more than memos from a boss to his subordinates about how he wants an agency to be run. They don’t have the force of laws, laws are exclusively within the authority of the legislature.

OTOH, I think the US is a profoundly sick country, and despite everything Trump still have a huge base of support, so a massive, overwhelming election for democrats is just about impossible.

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133 points
*

Not surprisingly, the constitutionalists and “Biden is too old” crowd Republicans are silent.

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36 points

The “Biden is too old” crowd isn’t silent, but there’s very little to say about Biden’s age now and there are better reason to oppose Trump than his age.

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24 points

See above reply. I should not have, mistakenly, implied democrats earnestly concerned about Bidens age are silent now. My point was to illustrate Republican hypocrisy.

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13 points

Republicans are not and have never been honest. At least since Regan. This includes Republican voters.

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1 point

Biden is too old” crowd are silent.

I haven’t witnessed the people who said that go silent. They changed topics that there were cats and dogs being eaten in Springfield Ohio, topics that JD Vance “couch couch couch”, topics that eggs are expensive, topics that Canada is bad, topics that Greenland needs to be taken over by the USA, topics that Ukraine started the war against Russia, they are anything but silent, they are commenting all over every media platform they can find free time to utilize.

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-17 points
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FWIW my issue was never explicitly about Biden’s age but his mental capacity, which had clearly declined (he did have some good days tho.)

Trump’s mental capacity seems to be about the same as it always was (it was always low, but not as bad as Biden on a bad day.)

Not that I’d vote for Trump either way, mind you.

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41 points

Are we talking about the same person? Trumps ramblings are more incoherent than ever. He often forgets words, or uses the wrong word, and then gets confused trying to find the right word. Those are serious signs of dementia related diseases.

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11 points

Trump can’t even keep a thought in his head for more than 5 minutes which is fortunate because he can’t articulate on any thought past 2 minutes. So ya he’s gonna repeat himself once or twice its simple math. It’s not just that he’s dumb, or senile… he’s also woefully uneducated.

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6 points

Are we talking about the same person? Trumps ramblings are more incoherent than ever.

Yes, his chaos and nonsense has gotten more aggressive, even stronger in favor of Russia, etc.

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-3 points

Trump rambles about the same as he did in the 2016 election, he was just as incoherent back then, he brain-farted in the middle of a sentence on multiple occasions during his first term and just babbled to try to cover it. None of this is new, none of it has increased sharply and thus become a sudden new concern - he’s the same senile little shithead he’s been since the early 2000s at least. But he still clearly has some capability to speak and act somewhat normally, unlike Biden on that debate stage who looked confused and not all there all of a sudden (and was fine a few days later.)

So if there is decline, and I’m not arguing there isn’t, it’s been going on for a long time. Biden’s was new, bad, and seemed to be accelerating fairly rapidly. I’m not saying Trump is better - I’m about as far from being a Trump supporter as one can be and still be on the same political spectrum - I’m just saying Biden’s mental health was a problem, and pretending that it isn’t is part of why it is.

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15 points

Bro biden had no problem communicating. He had a speach impediment.

I watch most presidential press briefings and only one of the 80 year old presidents is a senile old fool.

Even if Biden has lost his mind, the remaining parts amounted for more knowledge about government and international affairs than trump ever had.

Biden is gone and our problems are just begining, do me a favor and keep his name out of your mouth.

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5 points

What? I’ve heard him talk from a few years ago, he stumbles over his words occasionally, but Biden’s debate performance was not a speech impediment. He was lost, easily distracted, and spoke like he wasn’t all there. And the fact that it comes and goes (he seemed fine just a few days later) suggests this is a mental issue, not a life-long thing. I agree with you though, Biden is still better than Trump (I am about as far from being a Trump supporter as one can possibly be and still be on the same political spectrum), and his cabinet was far better, but pretending that it’s not a problem is part of why it was a problem.

Also you are cordially invited to fuck all the way off with that ‘keep his name out of your mouth’ shit. I’m here to have adult discussions about our situation and how we got into it, if you can’t handle that then you’re welcome to go sit at the kids’ table.

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4 points

Biden’s brain was leaking out of his head during the presidential debate, arguably the most important night of his ‘24 run. That was way more than a speech impediment, it was dementia on full display. His staffers have already come out and said they knew he was suffering from serious mental decline as early as ‘22. Stop making excuses for the Dems trying to steamroll through an unfit candidate…it was a dumbass strategy and it cost the nation to such a massive extent we may never recover. We should have upheld the democratic process and held a contested primary instead, and Biden’s legacy will be forever tarnished by refusing to do so.

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3 points
*

Extremely reasonable concerns, I agree. I wish Biden would have passed the baton early on like he said he was going to. I honestly think that cost the Democrats the election.

But given the choice between a declining Biden surrounded by competent people or Trump surrounded by sycophants, I would choose the former.

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-18 points
Removed by mod
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22 points

I perhaps should have clarified that I meant Republicans who said they opposed Biden because of his age, who are suddenly okay with someone in his 80s running.

I certainly did not mean Democrats earnestly voicing concern of Bidens age.

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6 points

They’re not upset you appeared to criticize a Democrat. They’re juvenilly incensed that you dared push back against the propaganda they fully believe. With the most feint of defense of a Democrat. Check their history. Dingdong don’t do nuance or maturity. You’re fine.

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1 point

Thank you for the clarification.

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77 points
Removed by mod
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42 points

I sometimes wonder how his SS detail hasn’t done so but they are in fact cops and AC AB.

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24 points

You don’t remember? Many USSS members are Trump loyalists…

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14 points

the praetorian guard is as conservative and fascist as they come

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2 points

That was where they started with the rooting out of the disloyal

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9 points

I just wonder what happened to that deep state?

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4 points

They’re building it

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3 points

That used to be a word that meant the bureaucrats who knows how to run things regardless of who was in charge.

It was Republicans who turned it into a conspiracy theory.

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2 points

He kept talking about it because he intended to create it

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76 points

Then have Obama run against him.

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50 points

That’s adorable how you think there might ever be another free and fair election in the US.

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6 points

Well we made it through one civil war…

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3 points

Did you though?

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25 points

It should be clear by now that any “rule” the Trump administration comes up with only applies to themselves.

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5 points

Just like school-age kids who make up rules to their advantage every 5 seconds.

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3 points

They just have to say that as long as you haven’t served two consecutive terms you’re still eligible.

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14 points

NoT tHaT wAy!!!

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8 points

You think they’ll be an election? Ha!

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7 points

There will be an election. Even Putin has elections. But they will be neither free nor fair.

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2 points

I’m 50/50 on this. I think it will depend on if we’re in a full out WW3 by then. But you are correct. It’s important the illusion of democracy continues. It’s been an illusion for most of American history though.

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2 points

50 state governments administer the election independently in each state.

Civil war 2?

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5 points

Then have Obama run against him.

Every social media platform has these kind of answers. As of Obama would even desire a third term, he isn’t an egomania admirer like Donald Trump. Barack Obama is an intelligent, thoughtful, moral leader who values education and understanding. He isn’t a entertainer who values wrecking humanism and creating maximum content animation for news networks and social media consumers to react-comment to.

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6 points

It’s just a thought experiment to imagine MAGA heads exploding. Trump is only talking about it to distract from the Signal scandal.

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1 point

It’s just a thought experiment to imagine MAGA heads exploding.

Fantasy. Simulacra. MAGA is death-wishing people that disagree with Elon Musk and Donald Trump values and leadership. Pretty much the entire nation is adopting death-wishing and social machine conventions of mass dehumanization. Trending towards more and more self-destruction as a nation.

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0 points

Why?

Don’t get me wrong, 08 was literally the only time I’ve been able to vote for what I wanted rather than just against a Republican…

But by 2012 we knew it was all bullshit and most people were holding their noses again.

We need a candidate like Obama in 08, not 2012 Obama after we found out he wasn’t much better

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8 points

“wasn’t much better” than his predecessor who started 2x 20 year wars?

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-5 points

Who said that?

He was the most progressive president of my lifetime…

And as Americans we should all be ashamed the bar is that low.

We need to do better moving forward, if the goal is always “be what it was like 20 years ago” then how the fuck isn’t it a conservative party?

If that’s what you want, go moderate the Republican party.

Your ideas ruined one of two political parties, then moved to the only other option and insisted you know better than the people who actually pay attention

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1 point

Did you get what you wanted? 🥹

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0 points

Yea i mean, if you think about it Trump is the most progressive candidate in 100 years. He’s completely destroying the system we’ve been trying to conserve and turning us into a vibe based government. It’s truly a progressive political experiment and I’m glad these progressives can finally get some real progress.

Destroying US institutions is the only thing the far left and right agree on. Yay progress.

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0 points

You need a Jimmy Carter.

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1 point

At the time of his presidency Carter was fighting a movement from the Dem voters who said he was too conservative for them. Their concern was politicians kept moving to the right, and they were concerned what would happen if there was no left party anymore…

People today thinking of Carter as a leftist is very unuronic, and what our grandparents were afraid of

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0 points

We need a candidate like Obama in 08, not 2012 Obama after we found out he wasn’t much better

Bro are you well?

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0 points

You said “not 2012 Obama after we found out he wasn’t much better I literally didn’t…

k

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