Donald Trump posted an AI-generated image of himself in military regalia alongside World War II Generals George Patton and Douglas MacArthur on August 4, wearing general’s stars and decorations he never earned, and the image landed amid a summer of similar stunts reviving talk of a third presidential term the Constitution does not allow him to seek.
The Patton and MacArthur image sparked online accusations of “stolen valor” from critics who pointed to Trump’s lack of military service and his Vietnam-era draft deferments for bone spurs, according to Snopes. As The Independent reports, the post was one entry in a much larger pattern: Trump has also shared an image of himself laughing alongside John F. Kennedy at Camp David, another showing him with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington signing a map of the United States, and large banners bearing his own face displayed over Washington government buildings.
A Weekend Blitz of AI Imagery
Over a single weekend from August 1 to August 2, Trump published roughly 40 posts on Truth Social, most of them AI-generated images comparing himself to Elvis Presley and George Washington, depicting a proposed 250th anniversary Triumphal Arch in Washington, and even showing simulated alien arrests, per IBTimes UK. The volume illustrates how AI imagery has become a near-daily vehicle for Trump’s public communications, mixing self-mythologizing spectacle with pointed political messaging. The same posting spree included a Trump 2028 poster and other images placing him alongside famous American historical figures, the Independent’s reporting notes.
Trump has frequently discussed or joked about a third term throughout his second presidency, and critics have accused him of authoritarian tendencies over the repeated flirtation, according to the Independent’s account. At the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on July 24, held at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington three months after an April shooting near a security checkpoint disrupted the original gathering, Trump put on a red Trump 2028 hat and told the room of journalists he was announcing his “intention to run for a fourth term” to help save struggling news outlets, according to PBS News.
The Constitutional Wall He Has Already Acknowledged
None of it changes the legal math. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt won four consecutive elections between 1932 and 1944, caps presidents at two terms, and altering it would require a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or a convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures, followed by ratification from 38 states, according to the National Constitution Center. No state-called constitutional convention has ever succeeded in American history.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has said Trump himself understands those constitutional constraints, telling reporters at a Capitol press briefing in October 2025 that amending term limits typically takes about a decade and that “I don’t see the path for that.” Johnson characterized Trump’s Trump 2028 merchandise as a tactic aimed at “trolling the Democrats,” per PBS NewsHour. Trump has echoed that same acknowledgment: aboard Air Force One during a trip to South Korea that October, he admitted, “if you read it, it’s pretty clear, I’m not allowed to run,” calling the restriction “too bad,” according to The Washington Post.
Bannon’s Loophole Claims Persist Anyway
That has not stopped some allies from insisting otherwise. Steve Bannon has said there is a plan that would allow Trump to seek office again and has predicted Trump will be president in 2028. During a November 2025 podcast episode, Bannon claimed a “top constitutional lawyer” told him “you can drive a Mack truck through the 22nd Amendment,” according to The Independent’s separate reporting on the strategist’s remarks.
Some Democratic lawmakers aren’t waiting to find out. In January, California State Assemblymember Dawn Addis introduced legislation aimed at keeping Trump’s name off California primary or general election ballots should he attempt a third-term run in 2028, according to a summary on Wikipedia.
Behind the Scenes, Trump Weighs a Successor
Even as he floats staying in power himself, Trump has reportedly been managing who comes after him. During a July White House meeting with GOP donors, Trump lobbied the room to back Vice President JD Vance for 2028, telling attendees “at the end of the day, we need to elect JD,” according to sources cited by The Washington Post and reported by Newsweek. Vance has led early 2028 primary polling but has faced narrowing margins against Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump publicly backtracked on that endorsement talk on Wednesday, telling Oval Office reporters it was “way too early to even be thinking about” backing Vance. On the same day, Trump said he could remain in office for a long time or leave fairly quickly, keeping the ambiguity alive even as he acknowledged the constitutional limits that stand in his way. Hoodline has previously reported on how Vance and Rubio have jockeyed for position amid Trump’s informal polling of the field.
