Lawyer tells Trump the Constitution is unclear on third term, WSJ reports [View all]

Source: Reuters

December 17, 2025 7:08 PM EST Updated 11 hours ago


WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump discussed a draft copy of a book by lawyer Alan Dershowitz that examines whether Trump could constitutionally serve a third term as president, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Trump's flirtation with the idea of a third term has alarmed opponents and constitutional experts, who say it would test the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which Congress approved after Franklin Roosevelt was elected four times. The 22nd Amendment states in part that "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."

But Dershowitz said he told Trump on Tuesday that the Constitution was not clear on the issue. He said that during an Oval Office meeting, he handed Trump a draft of the book, titled “Could President Trump Constitutionally Serve a Third Term?”

The book, to be published next year, lays out various scenarios in which an individual could serve a third term, Dershowitz said. He said Trump told him that he planned to read the book and asked him for his conclusions about a third term. “He found it interesting as an intellectual issue,” Dershowitz said in an interview with the Journal. “Do I think he’s going to run for a third term? No, I don’t think he will run for a third term.”

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/lawyer-dershowitz-told-trump-constitutionality-third-term-is-unclear-says-wsj-2025-12-17/