'He was always running for dictator': Internet shudders as Trump teases third term

President-elect Donald Trump spoke to the Republican caucus on Wednesday, and it was reported that he said he wouldn't run again after this term unless people wanted him to. Then, he'd ask them to "figure something out."

Reporters say that Trump was just cracking a joke, and former deputy press secretary Sarah Mathews believes it was tongue-in-cheek.

"But with Donald Trump, I think that nothing should be taken unseriously. So, maybe there is a chance that he means it. But I highly doubt it. But I do think that it is weird to joke about that," said Matthews.

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Writer and podcast host Wajahat Ali reposted the comment, saying, "There you go."

"The market isn’t pricing in President for life Trump," said "The Scoop's" host Frank Chaparro.

"Trump was never running for President. He was always running for dictator," said Melanie D'Arrigo, the director of the New York Health Campaign.

One person replied to her post recalling Trump's promise, "You'll never have to vote again," commenting, "Nothing to see here..."

Capitol Hill communications director Julian Duque wrote on X, "There you go, folks. He left the door open for running again."

US correspondent for the CBC Alexander Panetta recalled that Trump "made this kind of joke a lot. Over many years."

Republican Voters Against Trump similarly treated it as if it wasn't a joke. "Trump is already suggesting that he'd be open to running for a third term."

The 22nd Amendment of the Constitution prevents a president from serving more than two terms. That has never been challenged in court, however.