Topline
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that President Donald Trump entertaining the idea of seeking a third term is “trolling” rather than “truthing”—after the official Trump Store began selling “Trump 2028” hats last week and the president said he isn’t joking about possibly running again.
President Donald Trump arrives to welcome the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles NFL football … More
Key Facts
Leavitt agreed to answer questions on “Trump trolling or Trump truthing?” at a new media briefing Tuesday, and when asked about Trump 2028, she laughed and said, “Trump trolling.”
“Although the hats are flying off the shelves,” she added, referencing the merchandise the Trump Store began selling last week.
In addition to the hats, the Trump Store now also sells koozies and t-shirts that say “Trump 2028,” and the T-shirt also reads “rewrite the rules.”
Trump has said he is “not joking” about potentially running for a third term and said in an interview published last week there are “some well-known loopholes” that could allow him to have the office again—despite the Constitution stating no president is allowed to serve more than two terms.
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What Are The White House’s ‘new Media’ Briefings?
On Monday, Leavitt hosted the White House’s “first official influencer briefing” at the White House, which she said followed through on an earlier promise for the administration to “speak to all media outlets and personalities, not just the legacy media who traditionally has covered this institution.” Shortly after Trump took office in January, Leavitt announced there would be a member of what she called the “new media” in a chair at White House press briefings, saying “it’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt our White House to the new media landscape in 2025.” The new media representatives have included correspondents for Trump ally Steve Bannon’s “War Room” or Ben Shapiro’s Daily Wire, along with more mainstream publications that don’t attend the White House briefings every day (including Forbes).
Tangent
In addition to addressing “Trump 2028” during the briefing, Leavitt answered questions about Trump trying to acquire Greenland and Canada—and said both were examples of “Trump truthing.” With regard to Canada, which Trump has suggested should become the 51st state, Leavitt said, “Trump truthing all the way, and the Canadians would benefit greatly, let me tell you that. When asked about “eliminating the IRS,” Leavitt said that is an “optimistic goal” but it’s “on the side of truthing,” adding Trump wants to create an external revenue service.
Key Background
The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution states, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” but Trump has repeatedly avoided ruling out a third presidential term. Late last month, he said he was “not joking” about the possibility, but noted it was “far too early to think about it.” Months earlier, after he was elected but before he took office again, Trump told Republican lawmakers, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out.’” In a Time Magazine article published last week, Trump declined to elaborate on the “methods” that could allow him to seek a third term and said that while there are “loopholes,” he doesn’t “believe in using loopholes.”
Further Reading
Trump Store Selling ‘Trump 2028’ Hats—Weeks After Trump Says He’s ‘Not Joking’ About Potential Third Term (Forbes)
Trump Confirms He’s Serious About Wanting Canada As 51st State (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2025/04/29/white-house-says-trump-trolling-with-talk-of-2028-run/