Donald Trump has suggested a three-term presidency during a speech to the National Rifle Association - despite it violating the US Consitution.
The former president was speaking at the NRA's annual meeting on Saturday where he addressed a crowd of gun supporters and floated the idea of a third-term if he wins in November. “You know, FDR 16 years — almost 16 years — he was four terms. I don’t know, are we going to be considered three-term? Or two-term?” Trump said to the crowd in Dallas, which saw some yell "three" in response.
Trump has previously suggested the idea of a third term even while campaigning in 2020. This is despite the 22nd Amendment, which was enacted following Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s fourth term, limiting the presidency to two terms.
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His comments will be picked up on by Joe Biden and his campaign team, which looks to show Trump as a threat to democracy and institutional norms. However, Trump back in April, rebuffed the idea of seeking a third term.
He told Time magazine that he wouldn't be keen to challenge the 22nd Amendment. “I wouldn’t be in favour of it at all. I intend to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to put it back on the right track. Our country is going down. We’re a failing nation right now. We’re a nation in turmoil,” he said.
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Trump's comments came during a speech where he addressed thousands of members of the National Rifle Association, which officially endorsed him just before Trump took the stage at their annual meeting in Texas on Saturday. “We’ve got to get gun owners to vote,” Trump said. “I think you’re a rebellious bunch. But let’s be rebellious and vote this time.”
Trump, in his speech, said the Second Amendment “is very much on the ballot” in November. He alleged that, if Democratic President Joe Biden “gets four more years they are coming for your guns, 100% certain. Crooked Joe has a 40-year record of trying to rip firearms out of the hands of law-abiding citizens.”
The Biden administration has taken a number of steps to try to combat gun violence, including a new rule that aims to close a loophole that has allowed tens of thousands of guns to be sold every year by unlicensed dealers who do not perform background checks. Trump has pledged to continue to defend the Second Amendment, which he claims is “under siege.”.
He has called himself “the best friend gun owners have ever had in the White House” as the United States faces record numbers of deaths due to mass shootings. Last year ended with 42 mass killings and 217 deaths, making it one of the deadliest years on record.