Trump has 'lost his patience' with Steve Bannon as third term talk blows up MAGA, claiming sources

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump has apparently "lost his patience" with former White House strategist Steve Bannon over the latter's third-term talk.

A civil war appears to be raging within MAGA, between the so-called “28ers” who think the Constitution can be bent enough to squeeze in another Trump presidency, and the pragmatists who say it’s time for Trump to move on and avoid landing in legal quicksand. 

Steve Bannon’s 2028 plans

At the center of it all is Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist turned MAGA firebrand. Last month, Bannon sent shockwaves through Washington, DC, when he told The Economist there was a “plan” for Trump to be President again in 2028.

“The only way President Trump wins in 2028 and continues to serve in office is by the will of the American people,” Bannon teased. “And the will of the American people is what the Constitution embodies, so I believe we’ll be in good hands there.”

Can Trump have a third term?

While Bannon didn’t drop specifics, legal experts have cited the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms. If Trump tried to run again, opponents would swiftly file lawsuits and it would land before the Supreme Court (which does have a 6-3 conservative edge). 

In one hypothetical scenario, Trump runs as an independent and the vote splits three ways so that nobody snags the 270 electoral votes needed to win. At that point, the decision moves to the House of Representatives, with each state delegation getting one vote. 

That’s where one constitutional expert told the Daily Mail things could get weird. Theoretically, Trump could argue that being chosen by the House isn’t technically being “elected” for a third time, meaning the 22nd Amendment wouldn’t apply.

Trump vs Steve Bannon?

“Trump has lost his patience with Bannon,” one insider told the Daily Mail. “He’s among an irritable group who claim to speak for and to the President more than they actually do.”

According to them, the President sees Bannon as one of several self-appointed MAGA mouthpieces causing chaos.

“Bannon likes people to think of him as the voice of MAGA—but there’s only one voice of MAGA: Donald Trump,” the insider said. “Talk of 2028 doesn’t help Trump, it only helps Bannon—it means that instead of three more years of airtime, Bannon gets seven more years of attention.”

But a source close to him fired back, calling those claims “totally false.”

“Whoever’s saying that just has an agenda against him [Trump], and probably their own selfish agenda for 2028, or the direction of the Republican Party, and wants to move it into a less MAGA place,” the source said.

Trump puts third term rumor to bed

Last week, Trump himself hit the brakes on the third-term chatter. Wedged between two cabinet members on Air Force One, the president was asked directly about the 2028 idea. 

“I don’t want to talk about that,” he said. “If you read it [the Constitution], it’s pretty clear, I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad. But we have a lot of great people.”

It seemed he already had a 2028 bench in mind, as he mentioned Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 

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