President Donald Trump has frequently suggested he wants to seek a third term, posting about mounting another campaign, donning 2028 caps and discussing ways to make it happen — even as he has acknowledged the Constitution prohibits it. But lately, Trump has begun showing signs that even he doesn't really believe another run will happen.

During recent speeches, the Republican president has begun describing life after the White House when his term ends in January 2029, predicting he'll be at home and agonizing as his successor claims credit for his accomplishments.

"Your next president is going to say, 'What a great job I did,'" Trump told an event on Long Island, New York, this month. "He'll be sitting around, watching television. A real stiff. Unless you vote Republican, of course."

During a recent rally in Pennsylvania, Trump said: "Whoever the next president is, he's going to be talking about what a brilliant president he is. And I'll be home. And I'll be saying, 'That son of a gun,' because we did the job."

A week later in Georgia, Trump predicted that once his presidency was over, "I'll be sitting home" and "I may be crying," arguing that Democrats could retake the Senate and scrap filibuster rules. In Michigan, he said: "In two and a half years, you may have a different president — may," emphasizing the "may." He added: "I'll be sitting home. I'll be reading the papers. I'll be watching television," before swiping at his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

A sitting president talking about becoming a former one is always politically fraught. But with midterm elections now just nine weeks away, Trump is approaching the point of his presidency where there will be more and more reminders that his power will soon wane.

Being willing to say he's contemplating a White House without him marks a notable shift for Trump. Going back to his first term and from virtually the moment he won a second, he's left the door open to staying put for more than eight years.

"He is all over the place," said Brian Kalt, a Michigan State University constitutional law professor. "And what that does is, it allows him to point to his own words to support any number of mutually exclusive things." Trump can say, "'Oh yeah, I made it clear that I wasn't gonna run,'" Kalt said, "Or, if he decides that he will, he could say, 'Well, you know, I never said I wouldn't.'"

The White House dismissed suggestions that Trump's thoughts are increasingly turning to the clock running out on his presidency — and the legacy he'll leave behind. Spokesperson Olivia Wales said he "is fighting every day" to deliver on promises to reduce violent crime, crack down on the US-Mexico border and lower prescription drug prices, and that the only legacy he is concerned with is making America greater than ever before.

Trump's third-term ambitions

Trump has often used social media posts to promote "Trump 2028" logos featuring his slogan "Make America Great Again." At the rescheduled White House Correspondents' Association dinner last month, Trump joked: "Just like my presidency, the second time is always better" and that "the third time will be better yet. I'm only kidding." He later wore a 2028 campaign cap.

The Constitution's 22nd Amendment says no one can be elected president more than twice. It was ratified in 1951, six years after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt died months into his fourth term. Trump told NBC News shortly after returning to the White House: "There are methods which you could" use to seek a third term, including running as Vice President JD Vance's running mate in 2028 and then having Vance step aside if the ticket won. Trump later told Time Magazine: "There are some loopholes," while also saying he didn't believe in using them. Trump recently acknowledged to reporters: "I'd love to run, but the law is very strong."

Legacies and construction

Paul Begala, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton, said second-term presidents, particularly as they cross the midpoint of their second term, start thinking about legacy. Trump has ordered a towering arch near the Lincoln Memorial and restored city fountains, while constructing a Rose Garden patio area and helipad on the White House lawn and adding gilded touches to the building. He is pushing to complete a massive ballroom despite legal challenges, and he has said the project will only be completed late in 2028, shortly before he leaves office. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office regarding the ballroom: "It's not for me, 'cause I'm going to be here a very short period of time" when the work is finished. "I'll be there for four, five, six months. This is for future presidents."

In his last two years of office, Clinton threw himself into trying to broker a Middle East peace agreement; Bush used the slogan "sprint to the finish" in 2008; and Biden adopted a "run through the tape" approach after abandoning his re-election bid.