This year has been an eventful — awful — one for the United States. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to disband the Department of Education; the federal government approved research cuts that target studies focused on vulnerable populations; high tariffs that Trump imposed globally destroyed the stock market and increased prices for many goods. 

Even with these catastrophes, I reasoned that the U.S. would only need to survive under Trump’s leadership for four more years, and then we would be forever rid of him thanks to the power of democracy and the two-term limit on U.S. presidents. A new leader could rise to power, reverse his changes and all would be well again.

Now that Trump has admitted to NBC News that he hasn’t ruled out running for a third term, I’m afraid that the U.S. is on a slippery slope that will eventually lead to the death of democracy. 

Should Trump be reelected for a third term, he will be setting a precedent by violating the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment. The amendment strictly states that presidents have a term limit, meaning it is unconstitutional for any president to remain in office after their second term. 

The two-term tradition, prior to the 22nd Amendment’s ratification, was established by George Washington. While most of the Founding Fathers didn’t want term limits, Washington’s retirement established a tradition for his successors. Washington feared that he would become similar to a king, something that early U.S. colonists did not want following the American Revolutionary War against the British monarchy.

In this Trump term, hundreds of years later, term limits — or lack thereof — have once again become a concern. While Trump has only said that he hasn’t ruled out running for a third term as of now, the fact that he is willing to consider a third term at all is worrying. Once the 22nd Amendment is broken, who’s to say that he can’t keep running for the position for the rest of his life? He could continue to keep the changes he has already implemented, remain indispensable in the political sphere and transform our democracy into an autocracy.

If Trump remains in power for a third term, it is likely that the people he has appointed will also continue their roles. Given that 52% of Americans said they were disappointed in Trump’s appointees and 40% of all poll respondents indicated that they were very worried about the Trump administration’s prospects, his administration staying in power is risky.

Looking at other countries whose presidents have violated their term limits, the potential future of America looks grim. Guinea’s 2020 election allowed President Alpha Condé to run for another term, causing chaos to erupt shortly after. More than 20 Guineans were killed in riots, and security forces were deployed to forcefully put down Condé’s opposition.

Trump has already made concerning comments hinting at the potential use of violence against his dissenters. In 2016, he declared that he would bring back waterboarding as a torture method. In 2020, he allegedly asked if protestors outside the White House could be shot, and in 2022, he commented that he would imprison reporters who would not comply with his demands. 

Ultimately, Trump values conformity with his own agenda. In 2023, he promised to target communists, Marxists, fascists and those who he deems part of the “radical left,” because he doesn’t tolerate any dissent. However, the very purpose of democracy is that it encourages people to express their beliefs without fear of retribution; it is a form of governance where the thoughts of writers, artists, philosophers and scientists can flow without censorship. 

Trump’s democracy is a perversion of actual democracy, and the possibility of him pursuing a third presidential term goes against the democratic values this nation has historically stood for.

Regardless of which political party you support, Trump does not have your best interests in mind. If you believe in the power of democracy, you should recognize that a president who has contemplated violating their term limit is not afraid to push boundaries. Once that precedent is set, that president has the power to change anything for his own benefit. Protecting democracy should be this nation’s number one priority.

Voters today cannot and should not accept even the speculations about Trump’s third presidential term. U.S. citizens need to make it clear that this is unacceptable via the ballots for the 2028 presidential election.