Reaction was very swift but wearied, very wearied, as the White House put out the announcement in June, 2032, that President Donald Trump was going to run for his fourth term.
“Never had a better president, except me of course, than FDR,” intoned Trump. “He saved the country because he had four terms. I loved FDR. Everybody knows that. Four’s the charmer. I need four to make America First Forever!”
Very swift reaction.
“You can’t do it,” the Never Trumpers insisted. “It’s against the Constitution!”
“Constitution, shmantztatution,” Trump fumed and scorned when, at the Republican National Convention, he made his formal announcement for his third term in 2028. Of course the Constitution of the US did limit the presidency to two terms. “We can change the Constitution!” thundered Trump to deafening applause.
Everybody knows how hard it is to change the US Constitution. Congress has to approve a Constitutional Amendment and then two-thirds of the states need to approve it. Fat chance!
But actually, the chance was excellent after Trump got done changing America’s voting patterns, as he was quick to remind the skeptical journalists at his initial announcement for his third term.
“Everybody said I couldn’t deport 11 million illegals,” Trump triumphed. “But of course we did deport ‘em and it’s a good thing too. As a result nobody wants to come to America anymore. No more automatic Democrats. So we’ll make a Constitutional Amendment.
“Just for me. It’ll pass. Easy. You’ll see. Remember when I cut off the millions and the billions that the federal government was sending blindfolded to the leftist, DEI, bloated, anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas, worthless universities? Well, the states are next! There’s nothing in the Constitution that requires the federal government to prop up the states. If they don’t want to ratify the Constitutional Amendment allowing me to run for a third term, we’ll just cut ‘em off. Just like we did the universities.
“When the states see what we’ll do to ‘em if they don’t vote to allow me to run, all hell’s going to break loose. Every state official against me will get voted out of office, and fast.
“Harvard’s already eaten up half of its endowment of its $40 billion endowment in just four years. Why? Because we cut ‘em off. No state wants to be the next Harvard.
“So, I’m announcing for my third term. And we’ll make a Constitutional Amendment. Everything’s legal. And everything is American. America First!
“I hate to bring up Joe Biden, but remember decrepit Joe Biden?” Trump concluded the announcement for his third term half-incoherently as he hobbled off the stage.
The Donald got his amendment and got his votes and won in 2028 and now, four years later, he’s announced for his next term — his fourth. Of course, he’s put out the Constitutional Amendment thing again, this time adding on to the permissible third term another term, a fourth term. Reaction was swift but wearied, very wearied, because Never Trumpers thought he could pull it off again in 2032, just as he had in 2028.
However, they say that America is G-d’s land, that America uniquely enjoys Divine assistance. City on a Hill. The Puritans. Religious Freedom. Christian country. Jonathan Edwards. Thomas Jefferson. “All men are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Etc. Etc. Trump could mess with every tradition and everyone, and he could change the United States upside down, but he couldn’t mess with the Creator.
In 2032, the people looked at Trump and they began to see Joe Biden. Too old. Not fit. Sometimes mumbling, shuffling. Incoherent. Turned the wrong way this time, said the wrong thing that time. Fake doctors telling the country how healthy Trump was. Advisers making his decisions but making it look like Trump made them.
“Been there, done that,” said many Americans.
You can fool the people once, but you can’t fool them forever.
Still, Trump put forth his Constitutional Amendment allowing him a fourth term, and he even got it through Congress. But it was different this time as it went out to the states. The states were already bankrupt, every last one. The stock market? What . . . stock market? That was history. After the tariffs hit 669% and hundreds of American industries shut down and Elon Musk’s cost-cutting was so effective that very few, in or out of the government, had work anymore, there was practically nothing left to buy or sell or invest in.
State budgets cratered.
What was really odd, though, is that with all this going for them, the Democrats just couldn’t come up with someone to stand up to Trump, notwithstanding all of his illusions and delusions. Trump did stop anti-Semitism. So, while he didn’t get the Jewish vote, he did get a lot of Jewish donors. Trump did stop Iran, so he kept the hawks’ vote. Trump did turn Gaza into a Riviera, so he kept the Muslim vote and the progressive vote. (That was big.) Trump did finally come to Ukraine’s aid at Putin’s funeral, so he kept the policy experts’ vote. Trump knew how to scatter the goodies. So, despite everything, Trump did squeeze through his Constitutional Amendment a second time.
Besides which, the Democrats just couldn’t get past Kamala Harris who, like Adlai Stevenson, lost twice (2024 and 2028 for Harris; 1952 and 1956 for Stevenson); but unlike Stevenson, was put up to run for still another try, a third time, in 2032. Because, of course, all the talking heads talked to themselves and told themselves that Trump had made a mess of the country — and of course everyone saw that and everyone knew it and nobody liked Trump anyway! — so this time Kamala Harris was going to win. Finally. In 2032. A landslide. Sure thing!!
Uh . . . about that fifth term . . . “so what if I’m 90?”
© IJN 2025
