US President Donald Trump’s online store has started selling merchandise bearing the slogan ‘Trump 2028’ – the year of America’s next presidential election.
On the Trump Store website, ‘Trump 2028’ hats are now being sold for $50.
“The future looks bright! Rewrite the rules with the Trump 2028 high crown hat,” the product description reads.
Beer can coolers and a t-shirt bearing the same phrase are also up for sale, with the ‘Trump 2028’ t-shirt sporting additional text reading “(Rewrite the Rules)”.
Mr Trump, who is currently serving his second term as president, is ineligible for a third term, the 22nd Amendment to the US Constitution limiting the number of times an individual might be elected to presidential office to two.
“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” the 22nd Amendment reads.
However, Mr Trump recently told NBC News that he was “not joking” about seeking a potential third term, adding that “there are methods” for doing so.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told NBC last month, before later saying that it’s “far too early to think about it”.
One such method would see Vice President JD Vance run for President, with Mr Trump on the ticket as Vice President. If Mr Vance were to win in 2028, according to this method, he could then resign, allowing Mr Trump to assume the presidency once again.
The legitimacy of that strategy has been disputed by some legal scholars, however, who’ve described the loophole as “implausible” and that it is contrary to the intention of the 22nd Amendment.
Trump-affiliated account, ‘Trump War Room’ posted an image yesterday of Eric Trump, the president’s third child, wearing the Trump 2028 hat, with the caption: “.@EricTrump rocking the new Trump 2028 hat!”
On X, Eric Trump responded to another post featuring the image of himself wearing the hat with a response that included the hashtag “#NeverSayNever”.
When asked about the merchandise and why it was put online, spokesperson for the Trump Organisation Kimberly Benza responded, “Because it’s amazing,” according to the New York Post.
Republican Congressman Andy Ogles introduced earlier this year a House Joint Resolution to amend the US Constitution to allow a President to be elected for up to, but no more than three terms.
‘‘No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,’’ the proposed amendment reads.
Congressman Ogles presented the amendment because, according to Mr Ogles, Mr Trump “has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal”.
“To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms. This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs,” he said.