Former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Aero Center Wilmington in Wilmington, N.C., on Saturday.
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If former President Donald Trump loses the election in November, would he run again in four years?
No. At least that’s what he told an interviewer last week.
The Republican presidential nominee spoke with Sinclair Broadcast Group journalist Sharyl Attkisson at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Friday for an interview that aired on her show, Full Measure, on Sunday.
The wide-ranging conversation spanned the recent assassination attempts against Trump, his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, his health regimen (golf and “proper” hamburgers) and his plans for a potential second term, including whether he would appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Elon Musk and Tulsi Gabbard — all of whom have endorsed him — to his Cabinet (he said it was too early but didn’t rule it out).
And it ended with Attkisson asking Trump whether he sees himself running again in 2028 if his current presidential bid — his third in a row — is unsuccessful.
“No, I don’t. No, I don’t,” Trump said. “I think that that will be, that will be it. I don’t see that at all. I think that hopefully we’re gonna be successful.”
It’s a rare admission of possible defeat by the former president, who has spread false claims about voter fraud and election interference to explain his loss in 2020 and preemptively stoke fears about 2024. He has previously said the only way he can lose this November is if there’s voter fraud.
Trump’s claims should always be taken with a grain of salt, and his decision about 2028 is a particularly hard one to fact-check.
But it aligns with comments Trump has made — including during the first debate — suggesting he wouldn’t have entered the race if not for President Biden (“I wish he was a great president, because I wouldn’t be here right now”).
It also squares with voters’ concerns and Trump’s criticisms about Biden’s age — which are now boomeranging right back at him.
Trump, 78, became the oldest presidential nominee in U.S. history after Biden withdrew from the race this summer, and he would be the oldest president inaugurated if he wins a second term. He would be 82 — a year older than Biden is now — in 2028.
Trump’s longevity came up multiple times during Friday’s interview.
He spoke about feeling safe after surviving two apparent assassination attempts in recent months — “I can’t be scared because if you’re scared, you can’t do your job” — and said he stays healthy by playing golf — “but it seems to be quite a dangerous sport in retrospect” — referencing this month’s incident at his Florida club.
When Attkisson pushed him about his diet, particularly his well-documented love of hamburgers, he admitted that he likes “perhaps all the wrong food,” but doesn’t plan to make many changes.
“I have people lecturing me for years, ‘Oh don’t eat this, don’t eat that,’ ” Trump added. “They’re gone, they have passed away long ago. And here I am.”
Trump’s presidential opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, is 59 years old.
Recent national polls — including the most recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll — continue to paint a picture of a tight race between the two: An NBC News poll showed Harris gaining a double-digit increase in popularity (and a five-point lead), while a New York Times/Siena College poll showed Trump gaining a lead in the critical swing states of Arizona and Georgia.
