Donald Trump seems to dismiss the idea of running for president in 2028 if he is defeated by Kamala Harris in the US election | US News
Donald Trump has stated that he does not plan to run for president again in 2028 if he loses the current US election.
Mr Trump, who served as US president from January 2017 to January 2021, is seeking reelection for a third time after his defeat in the 2020 election to Joe Biden.
He is currently behind this year’s Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris, by five percentage points in a poll conducted by Sky News’ US partner network NBC News. Ms Harris holds an average lead of approximately 3.6 points nationwide.
When asked on the US news show Full Measure if he would run again if he loses, Mr Trump responded, “No, I don’t… I think that will be it.”
The former president would be 82 in 2028, one year older than President Biden is presently.
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This answer was significant because Mr Trump appeared to rule out a potential fourth presidential campaign and because he rarely acknowledges the possibility of a legitimate electoral loss.
Mr Trump typically asserts that he could only lose if there were widespread fraud, a claim he made in 2020 and has preemptively stated again during his 2024 campaign.
Mr Biden withdrew from the race in July following his poor performance in a debate and months of criticism from Mr Trump and other conservatives for being too old and unpredictable for the presidency.
President Biden endorsed his vice president after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Pic: AP
During the 22-minute interview, Mr Trump also defended his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
He claimed credit for the development of COVID-19 vaccines during his presidency while also acknowledging that “studies on the vaccines are ongoing, and we will discover the results.”
Mr Trump mentioned that Republicans have grown wary of the vaccines, contrasting with Democrats who have faith in them.
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On Saturday, the former president rejected the idea of participating in a second debate with Ms Harris.
“The issue with another debate is that it’s too late. Voting has already begun,” he informed a crowd in North Carolina.
Kamala Harris campaigning in Wisconsin. Pic: Reuters
Ms Harris had initially agreed to the proposed debate, which was scheduled to be broadcast on CNN on 23 October.
She was widely regarded as outperforming Mr Trump in a previous debate earlier this month.
The US election will take place on 5 November.
