If Donald Trump can run for a third term, so could Barack Obama

Even before he was elected to his second term in office, Donald Trump has made no secret of his desire to serve a third term.

While the president often plays his desires off as a joke, he has already announced he will run for re-election in 2028.

But in order to do so, he would need a change to the constitutional ban on presidents serving more than two terms.

Even if he succeeds in doing so, a lift on the two-term limit would potentially put him face-to-face with what would be his most difficult adversary.

Though serving before him, Barack Obama is 15 years younger than Trump, and based on recent polling, vastly more popular.

Not only that, Obama has the proven record of comfortable national victories over Republicans.

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Both times Obama ran for president, he won in near-landslides, with a majority of the vote and a larger lead in the electoral college than Trump ever received.

And after leaving office, he has only grown more popular with the American people.

In 2012, when Trump was considering his own run for president, his candidacy was swiftly dismantled by Obama.

Trump became a conservative hero by inferring Obama was not constitutionally eligible on a conspiracy that he wasn’t born in the US.

Then on one weekend, Obama released his birth certificate, mocked Trump to his face at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner, then announced the killing of Osama bin Laden.

"But all kidding aside, obviously, we all know about your credentials and breadth of experience," Obama said.

“In an episode of Celebrity Apprentice at the steakhouse, the men’s cooking team did not impress the judges from Omaha Steaks.  

“And there was a lot of blame to go around.  But you, Mr Trump, recognised that the real problem was a lack of leadership.  

“And so ultimately, you didn’t blame Lil’ Jon or Meatloaf.  You fired Gary Busey.  And these are the kind of decisions that would keep me up at night.”

As the crowd roared with laughter, Trump sat in his seat and glared.

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Obama's polling numbers soared and Trump put his presidential ambitions on ice.

For a brief few years, Trump's potential as a presidential candidate went from possible to unthinkable.

Whether Obama would go for a third term is hard to say. He has not expressed any interest in serving in public office again.

But the ambition that makes a person want to be president rarely disappears once they are legally prohibited from doing so.

He did joke about his situation in a 2018 interview with David Letterman.

"If it wasn't for the Constitution, you'd have Michelle," Obama said.

“I’m prevented from running again by the Constitution, but even if it were not for that amendment, Michelle would leave me.

"I want her around."

While less likely, there are two other former two-term presidents who would also be eligible for another bid if the limit was overturned.

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At 80, Trump is one month older than fellow Republican George W. Bush, who left office deeply unpopular but has regained ground with voters after retirement.

Trump is also two months older than Bill Clinton, even though the Arkansas Democrat left the White House a quarter-century ago.

But based on current polling, Democrats would view Obama as their dream candidate and Trump as their dream opponent.