Steve Bannon, President Trump’s longtime ally and former White House strategist, has openly discussed strategies to keep Trump in power beyond the constitutional two-term limit, sparking urgent questions about whether the Twenty-Second Amendment will be enforced or abandoned.
Bannon’s Brazen Constitutional Challenge
Bannon declared in recent interviews that “there are many different alternatives to make sure that President Trump is on the ballot” in 2028, confirming what many feared: Trump’s inner circle is developing concrete plans to circumvent the Constitution’s term limit provisions. This isn’t idle speculation or political theater. Bannon’s statements represent the most explicit acknowledgment yet that Trump’s team views the Twenty-Second Amendment as an obstacle to be overcome rather than a constitutional boundary to be respected. The brazenness of this public planning should alarm anyone who values constitutional governance and the principle that no person stands above the law.
Trump’s Own Words Confirm the Threat
President Trump himself has repeatedly signaled his intentions, moving beyond what some dismissed as jokes or trolling. He has sold “Trump 2028” merchandise and explicitly stated he’s “not joking” about seeking a third term, claiming there are “methods” to remain in office beyond constitutional limits. These aren’t offhand remarks—they’re deliberate trial balloons designed to normalize the idea of indefinite executive power. Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results and his role in the January 6 Capitol events already demonstrated his willingness to challenge democratic norms when they conflict with his personal ambitions.
Project 2025’s Blueprint for Permanent Power
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 provides the intellectual infrastructure for this constitutional assault. This comprehensive policy document, developed with input from over 100 conservative organizations, outlines detailed strategies to consolidate executive power and weaken institutional checks and balances. The plan calls for restructuring federal agencies, embedding loyalists throughout the civil service, and effectively neutering congressional oversight. While Project 2025 doesn’t explicitly endorse violating term limits, its framework for executive dominance creates the administrative architecture that would make such a power grab feasible. This isn’t about conservative governance—it’s about dismantling the constitutional order our founders established.
The Supreme Court’s Uncertain Role
Legal scholars emphasize that the Twenty-Second Amendment’s language is clear and unambiguous: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” However, Bannon’s confidence suggests Trump’s team believes the current Supreme Court might refuse to enforce this provision or find creative interpretations to bypass it.
The Court’s ideological composition and its willingness to overturn longstanding precedents in other areas have emboldened those who seek to test constitutional boundaries. If the Court fails to uphold explicit constitutional text, it would represent the complete collapse of judicial independence and the rule of law. Americans who respect the Constitution must demand that all branches of government honor their oaths to defend it, regardless of political considerations or personal loyalties.
The stakes couldn’t be higher. If Trump and Bannon succeed in normalizing the idea that constitutional term limits are negotiable or unenforceable, they will have fundamentally transformed America from a constitutional republic into something resembling the authoritarian regimes our founders explicitly rejected. Every American who values liberty, limited government, and the Constitution must recognize this threat for what it is: not a policy disagreement, but an existential challenge to constitutional governance itself. The Twenty-Second Amendment exists precisely to prevent the emergence of presidents-for-life and the concentration of unchecked executive power that inevitably follows.
Sources:
Steve Bannon Reveals There’s a Plan for a Third Trump Term – The New Republic
Inside Project 2025’s Plan to Reprogram the Government – Boston Review
Donald Trump’s Plan to Rig the 2026 Midterm Elections – Mother Jones
What We Can Expect – Authoritarian Playbook 2025