Trump says 'it's pretty clear' he can't run for 3rd term

President Donald Trump appeared to acknowledge Wednesday that he cannot run for a third term, after previously declining to rule out the possibility.

“I have my highest poll numbers that I've ever had, and, you know, based on what I read, I guess I'm not allowed to run. So, we'll see what happens,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Gyeongju, South Korea.

“I would say that if you read it, it's pretty clear. I'm not allowed to run. It's too bad, but we have a lot of great people,” he added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday, after speaking with him, that he does not "see the path" for Trump to seek a third term.

Trump sidestepped questions about Johnson’s comments, instead touting what he said were his strong polling numbers.

“I don't want to even talk about that because, you know, the sad thing is, I have my highest numbers that I've ever had,” Trump said.

Trump has repeatedly raised the prospect of serving a third term, despite being barred from doing so by the Constitution. The 22nd Amendment explicitly states that no person shall be elected president more than twice.

On Monday, Trump said he would "love to do it" when asked about a potential 2028 bid. He also appeared to rule out the prospect of running on the 2028 Republican ticket as vice president, though said he would be "allowed to do that."

"I guess I think it's too cute," referring to a scenario under which the person elected president would step aside so he could take over. "Yeah, I would rule that out because it's too cute. I think the people wouldn't like that. It's too cute. It's not -- it wouldn't be right."

Vance says Trump floated idea of Vance-Rubio 2028 ticket

On the "Pod Force One with Miranda Devine" podcast on Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance shared that President Trump floated the idea of him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the Republican ticket in 2028 about six months ago over lunch at the White House.

"So, the president first raised this with me probably six months or so ago during just, you know, one of our private lunches that we try to get lunch every couple of weeks just to catch up on what's going on and talk about things. He mentioned it probably six months or so ago, and I mentioned to the secretary in jest, but it feels so premature, because we're still so early. And what I always say to people is, if we take care of business, the politics will take care of itself," Vance said.

Vance was asked about the fact that Trump has never specifically said who should lead the ticket and if that could cause any tension with Rubio. Vance said it wouldn't.

"First of all, no, there's not going to be any tension. Marco is my best friend in the administration. He and I work a lot together, and we really do. I think a lot of the good work that we've been able to do as an administration is because we're all able to work together. And again, this is why I say worrying too much about the politics, actually, I think makes you worse at the job that you have," Vance said.