We live in unprecedented times. Or interesting times. Or unprecedented and interesting times. Both are exactly true.

There is a precedent for a sitting president to run for a third term, although no one’s done it since the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which states that “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” was ratified in 1951.

But in times of war, we tend to toss out the Constitution. And really, is it infeasible to imagine the 22nd Amendment being repealed if there is a consensus on both sides that the future of this country would be made better by someone serving a third term?

There is also precedent for a former president running for president years after leaving office. In fact, it happened quite recently.

When the past is prologue, it doesn’t make sense to dismiss anything that has happened, especially when the sitting leader of the free world says he wants it to happen.

Within hours of President Donald Trump winning his second term in office after running in his third presidential election, there’s been speculation that Trump would seek a third term.

Trump himself has only fanned the flames. As recently as March, he said, “I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election, was totally rigged.” 

He also said it’s not a joke. I believe the guy. He actually does what he says, even when people think it’s a joke.

It’s not a joke. It’s never a joke.

Which might be good for Democrats.

Democrats should actually want Trump to seek a third term — but only if former President Barack Obama also threatens to seek a third term.

“Threatens” is the key word. Obama has made it perfectly clear it’s a bad idea for any sitting president to run for a third term. And it’s not his responsibility to end the current presidency.

But there’s nothing stopping 44 from stopping 45/47 from getting a third term.

The New York Times and The Washington Post opinion writers are already proactively encouraging dyed-in-the-blue Democrats to move on. The Atlantic’s Mark Leibovich is asking just where Obama is. It seems that opinion writers and people on the internet with opinions can’t imagine why literally the only guy that would clearly destroy Trump in an election is in the front of people’s minds. 

Each writer acknowledges some basic truths but doesn’t take into account just how popular Obama STILL is, especially compared with Trump. We’re a decade into Trump as a politician, and regardless of your stance on MAGA, everyone who is relatively reasonable should be able to acknowledge Trump is smart enough to barely mention Barack or Michelle Obama. They are and have been more popular than Trump. As recently as this March, Obama won in a head-to-head hypothetical matchup. 

Trump had teased running for the highest office in the land since 2000. There was no one stopping him from running against Obama in 2008 or 2012. The only reason Trump didn’t do it until 2016, when he wasn’t close to the height of his popularity based on “The Apprentice” ratings, was he knew he could win. 

Democrats should want a potential third-term campaign from Trump because if Obama also announces, Trump loses badly. If popularity polls remain steady, there is literally no chance Trump wins in a head-to-head matchup against Obama. 

It won’t happen. Obama has made that clear. But Trump is not dumb and would not attempt to run against Obama. So maybe whoever actually is running the Democratic Party may want to convince POTUS 44 to at least tease entering the ring if POTUS 45/47 decides to once again remind us we live in unprecedented times. 

Democrats need to move on. It’s blatantly silly to think Obama is going to be the next president. But the biggest accomplishments and ideas from the Obama administration are not things to move away from.

The ideas and policies from those eight years also have higher approval ratings than the ideas and policies of the current Trump administration. According to a June 17 KFF poll, the Affordable Care Act has a 66 percent approval rating. Sixty-six percent! That’s incredibly high! Whoever got that thing passed should probably run for president!

That same poll shows that Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is viewed unfavorably by 64 percent of people. You’d think that would be very bad for the president who is trying to get it passed, but Trump currently has around a 46 percent approval rating. It seems that as long as there’s no formidable opponent who is as good at messaging, Trump will keep running wild on any sense of normalcy and precedent. If only there were someone with a proven track record and an even better gift of gab that could do something. …

Oh well. 

This is not a plea for the first Black president to come in and act as Superman or not a screed of whataboutism about Obama’s own record or a warning to supporters to move on. Positing an Obama vs. Trump matchup is basic oddsmaking. And the odds are overwhelmingly against Trump if Obama announces.

If Trump does and Obama refuses to engage, well, that’s an entirely different outcome.