𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

A lawyer who represented Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial has offered his assessment on whether he’ll attempt to pursue a third term. Trump has repeatedly entertained the notion of a third term in the White House, despite it contravening the US Constitution and being broadly considered legally impossible.

He raised the prospect at a campaign rally in Iowa once more this month, suggesting he believes he possesses the “right to run”. He did concede, nevertheless, that the “law says that I’m not allowed to”. His reasoning appears to stem from the unfounded conviction that he prevailed in the 2020 presidential election. Trump stated: “They cheated us on the second one because we won it three times, so I think I have the right to run again.”

Trump faces a political day of reckoning when Americans head to the ballot box on November 3 for the midterms, which many observers regard as a referendum on his presidency. Of course, Trump has previously refused to acknowledge the result of an election.

In 2021, a crowd of supporters contesting the outcome of the 2020 election – which he lost to Joe Biden notwithstanding baseless allegations of voter fraud – invaded the US Capitol, including far-right organisations such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers.

We presented the concept of disregarding the midterm outcomes to trial lawyer Michael T. van der Veen, who represented Trump during his second impeachment trial in 2021.

Asked whether Trump would accept the result, he told said: “Well, I guess that depends on how it goes.

“I don’t know. You know the cries for voter fraud and all that, you know, it’s a war cry for sure, but I haven’t seen a lot of evidence of anything.

“For the losers who cry and complain, since they started throwing stones as a contest back in caveman times, it’s human nature that you’d be p***** off when you lose.

“You serve a tennis ball, and it goes into the net, what do you do? You look at your racket. Not a racket!”

However, summarising his thoughts on why he believed Trump continues promoting the prospect of a third term, Michael responded: “Distraction, I think that’s distraction.”

In 2025, Trump stated he’d “love to do it” (run again), while senior strategist Steve Bannon asserted that a “plan” existed to guarantee the now-80-year-old president secured a further four years in power.

Adding fuel to speculation that Trump might have been orchestrating a third-term bid was a contentious decision by the Trump Organization to market red caps styled after his now-notorious Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats, but bearing the slogan “Trump 2028”.

Voters nationwide will select winners in thousands of races at different tiers of government in November, including contests in the House of Representatives and Senate – the two chambers comprising the US Congress.

For Trump, the outcome could prove catastrophic: the Republican Party – which he leads – risks losing control of either or both chambers, potentially opening the door to impeachment for an unprecedented third time. Trump’s second term has proved just as divisive as his first.

Dissatisfaction grows over the conflict in Iran, Trump’s tariff strategy, increasing fuel prices and cost of living, ICE operations, involvement in Venezuela, threats to Greenland, and concerns about Trump’s health and mental capacity.

Michael elaborated on why he “didn’t think” impeachment would occur once more. He said: “Of course, I would be honoured to represent him again. It’s one of the highest areas of responsibility for a lawyer to defend the leader of the country, and they would be pleased to.

“But I don’t think it’ll be necessary, and I would urge everybody to be going forward rather than going backwards in that kind of a way. There would be no point to it. Really, the point of his second impeachment was to try to see if they could never have him running (again).”

He added: “If he’d been convicted, he would have been disqualified from holding public office again.” Trump’s recent conduct, however, indicates he’s unwilling to accept defeat without a fight.

And while certain Republicans are said to be attempting to create distance from the POTUS before the election, Trump has nevertheless hit the campaign trail and attracted criticism over publicly funded TV advertisements.

Michael continued: “He’s not going to be able to have a third term, and so I don’t think the goal or the motivation or the objectives are there as they were in the last impeachment.”

He continued: “The reasons to impeach him the last time don’t really exist this time – it would be a sheer political retribution to no end.

“The time, resources, manpower, energy that would go into something like that, it’d make this country a lot better place if you put all those resources and put them into the right priorities.”

Lastly, when questioned whether there existed any legal mechanism for Trump to pursue a third term, he responded: “Not that I know of!”

However, an interview Trump conducted with Time Magazine in September suggests an altogether different – and potentially more concerning explanation – for why Trump won’t face impeachment.

Trump revealed he had not dismissed the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 or declaring a national emergency around the time of the midterms. The Insurrection Act permits the president to deploy military forces for law enforcement purposes within the US.

When pressed on the boundaries of his presidential authority, Trump stated: “I’m not committing to anything. We’re going to see how it plays out in court.”