If presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump defeats incumbent President Joe Biden in November, he would — under the United States' current rules and presidential term limit — be required to leave office on January 20, 2029.
But some of Trump's critics fear that if he becomes president again, he will refuse to leave the White House when the time comes.
Bloomberg News' Joshua Green reports that this fear is being expressed by more than a few U.S. voters in focus groups.
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Seiji Carpenter, vice president at David Binder Research, described an April focus group and told Bloomberg News, "We were talking to Latino men and Asian American-Pacific Islander women in battleground states, and they went straight to the issue of: What if Trump won't give up power?"
Carpenter added that this is a "real concern" among voters that David Binder Research has spoken to.
GOP strategist Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark and an outspoken Never Trump conservative, is also encountering this fear in focus groups she has been conducting.
At one of them, Longwell — who supported President Joe Biden in 2020 and is supporting him again in 2024 — asked voters, "Does anybody think he may not abide by the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution and leave office after the 2028 election? Anyone worried about that?"
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Seven out of eight participants, according to Longwell, raised their hands.
A Pennsylvania man in that focus group said of Trump, "I wouldn't put it past him, now that he owns the RNC. To say, 'Don Jr. is going to do the next term, and he'll get two. And then Barron (Trump) will get two.' And we'll just have some fake monarchy."
Green points out that even some voters who have their criticisms of Biden are worried that if Trump wins a second term, he won't respect the 22nd Amendment.
The Bloomberg News journalist reports, "As far-fetched as it may sound, the prospect of Trump overriding or simply ignoring the constitutional provision that limits a president to serving two terms seems to be pushing some undecided voters toward Biden, despite significant reservations about the incumbent's age, turmoil in the Middle East and high inflation. Now, strategists in both parties are probing to see how widely this sentiment has spread, particularly among the undecided voters likely to sway the election."
Alma, Wisconsin-based voter Lori McCammon voted for Trump in 2016 but has since come to view him as an authoritarian and isn't supporting him this year.
McCammon told Bloomberg News, "Based on what I’ve heard from him and figures like Steve Bannon, this would be our last free and fair election."
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Read Bloomberg News' full report at this link (subscription required).
