US President Trump Jokingly Declares To Run for 4th Term, "I Won Three Times"

• US President Donald Trump made a surprise announcement at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner that drew little laughter
• Trump claimed he had won the presidency three times and said he intended to run again, despite the Constitution barring a fourth term
• The dinner, which celebrates press freedom and honours journalism, took place three months after a previous event was cancelled

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US President Donald Trump drew a muted response from the audience at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner after joking that he planned to run for a fourth term as president, a move that would be unconstitutional under American law.

Speaking at the event, which celebrates press freedom and recognises achievements in journalism, Trump framed the remark as though it were a breaking news item.

The dinner took place three months after an earlier edition of the event was cancelled following a shooting, Al Jazeera reported.

Trump's fourth-term comment

"Tonight to show just how much I care about the press, and I want to save your ratings. I'm pleased to announce my intention to, and this is a somewhat of a scoop, my intention to run for a fourth term as president of the United States, I will be doing that," Trump said at the event.

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He continued:

"I won three times. Now I'm going to do it again. Thank you. I'm going to do it. Should be easy. I'm getting very good at running for president."

As reported by NBC News, Trump also returned to his longstanding claims about the 2020 election, saying

"Did very well the second time, by the way. It's a rigged election, but we'll have to talk about it," before turning his attention to the journalists in the room.

Trump warns press they need him

Addressing the assembled reporters and media figures, Trump suggested that his absence from public life would be bad for business.

"When I'm gone, you're all going to be broke. Your business model is going to be finished. No, it's true. When I'm not around, you're going to be broke. There's not going to be anybody to report on. Nobody gives a d@mn about anybody else," he said.

The US Constitution's 22nd Amendment limits any individual to two elected presidential terms.

Trump, who served his first term from 2017 to 2021 before returning to office in January 2025, would be constitutionally ineligible to seek the presidency again after his current term ends.

Trump declines to endorse JD Vance

Previously, Legit.ng reported that US President Donald Trump refused to designate his vice president, JD Vance, as the natural successor to his Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement or the Republican Party.

In an interview aired on 10 February, Trump stated it was premature to make such an endorsement.