Trump hints at 2028 with a cap. Prof Jiang's third-term prediction to come true?

US President Donald Trump has once again put the year 2028 into the political conversation in the United States. Trump shared an image of himself wearing a "Trump 2028" cap on Truth Social and captioned it, "We are going to win". The post came just days after Trump acknowledged that the law is a major obstacle to him seeking another term, reigniting speculation over whether he is merely trolling his opponents or keeping open the possibility of an unprecedented third presidential term.The development has puts Chinese-born Canadian educator Professor Jinga Xueqin's prediction in the spotlight.The 80-year-old US President is already serving his second, non-consecutive term after first winning the presidency in 2016 and returning to the White House in 2024. Under the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution of the US, a person cannot be elected president more than twice. That puts a constitutional cap on Trump's ability to win another presidential election in 2028, at least through the ordinary route.However, Trump has also openly endorsed US Vice President JD Vance as the presidential candidate of the Republicans for 2028, reported The Washington Post in its report on August 6. And that is precisely where a prediction made by Professor Jiang becomes interesting. Jiang has repeatedly predicted that Trump will somehow secure a third term, even while admitting that such an outcome would be extraordinary and potentially disastrous. Trump's latest "Trump 2028" post does not prove Jiang's prediction is coming true, but it has given fresh life to a theory that once sounded almost impossible.TRUMP'S FLIRITING WITH 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RUNTrump's latest post arrived less than a week after he was asked about running again in 2028. Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Trump said he would "love to run", but acknowledged that "the law is very strong" against a third term. His remarks appeared to recognise the constitutional barrier even as he continued to entertain the idea publicly. Then came the cap. The "Trump 2028" image, posted on Truth Social, was accompanied by the words "We are going to win". The message was enough to revive speculation over what Trump actually intends to do after his current term ends.But the central question remains that how could Trump possibly become president again when the Constitution appears to rule it out?PROFESSOR JIANG FLAGS A LOOPHOLE IN THE US CONSTITUTIONThe 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution states that no person can be elected president more than twice. Because Trump was elected in 2016 and again in 2024, he would ordinarily be barred from being elected president in 2028. But there is a constitutional wrinkle that has attracted attention for decades.The amendment prohibits being "elected" president more than twice. It does not explicitly say that a two-time elected president can never again serve as president through another constitutional route.That is where Professor Jiang's argument for his prediction of Trump's third term enters.Jiang has suggested that Trump could theoretically run for vice president in 2028. If the elected president subsequently left office, Trump could potentially succeed to the presidency."There is nothing in the constitution that says that a president cannot run as vice president and then the president resigns and he becomes the president," Jiang argued in a podcast with Indian YouTuber Raj Shamani uploaded on August 11.However, this is far from a settled legal loophole. The 12th Amendment of the US Constitution says that anyone constitutionally ineligible to be president is also ineligible to be vice president.The unresolved question is whether the 22nd Amendment makes a twice-elected president constitutionally "ineligible" to the presidency for purposes of the 12th Amendment. A Congressional Research Service analysis says the issue has never been definitively tested and remains constitutionally debatable.So Jiang's proposal is better understood as a constitutional theory, not an established legal pathway.TRUMP WILL GET A THIRD TERM AS PRESIDENT: PROF JIANGIn the two-hour-long podcast with entrepreneur and podcaster Raj Shamani, Professor Jiang presented Trump's third term as his "first major prediction" and said he believed Trump would ultimately obtain one. Professor Jiang rose to popularity after his two predictions — the US and Israel's war against Iran and Trump's return to power in 2024 — became a reality.Professor Jiang also acknowledged how extreme his prediction of Trump's third term sounds.He said that even he hoped that it would not happen, warning that such an outcome could become a political "dumpster fire" and potentially trigger civil conflict in the United States. He also offered another possible route, suggesting Trump could attempt to use emergency or war powers to remain in office.But Jiang's broader point is that these are not predictions he expects others to accept blindly. He has presented them as a test of his larger theory that if his predictions materialise, he said, his theory gains validity, if they do not, he says it should be dismissed.His second major prediction concerns a "US ground invasion of Iran", and the third involves the possibility of the "destruction of the Al-Aqsa Mosque". Together, he argues, these events would validate his wider geopolitical theory.THE PUTIN PRECEDENT IN THE US LEGAL LOOPHOLEThere is a historical parallel to one part of Jiang's argument.When Boris Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned as Russia's president on December 31, 1999, Vladimir Putin, then-prime minister, became acting president. Putin subsequently won the March 2000 presidential election.The Putin episode, therefore, demonstrates how a leader can move from a subordinate constitutional office into the presidency through succession and then an election.But there is a crucial difference here. Putin was not vice president, and his route to the presidency was provided by Russia's constitutional succession system after Yeltsin's resignation. Jiang's proposed Trump scenario would involve a former two-time elected US president becoming vice president and then potentially succeeding to the presidency, which is an issue that US constitutional law has never conclusively resolved.For now, Trump's "Trump 2028" post is not a declaration of a candidacy. It is also not evidence that he has discovered a legal route around the 22nd Amendment. But the timing is significant. Trump has acknowledged that the legal barrier is strong, yet he continues to publicly juggle 2028. Jiang predicted precisely such a third-term outcome long before the election year arrives. What is clear is that Trump himself has kept the 2028 question alive.- EndsPublished By: Avinash KateelPublished On: Aug 18, 2026 08:30 IST