President Donald Trump said in a Sunday morning phone interview that he is serious about the possibility of serving a third term in office. When pressed later aboard Air Force One about his comments, the 78-year-old Republican suggested that supporters have raised the possibility of him ultimately serving a total of 12 years, citing their pleasure with the wins he has notched since retaking office.

"A lot of people want me to do it," Trump told NBC News' Kristen Welker. "But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it's very early in the administration."

"I'm focused on the current," added Trump.

Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution set presidential terms at four years but did not originally set term limits. While presidents were long able to serve over two terms, George Washington set a precedent that all but one president, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, followed.

In response to Roosevelt holding onto power from 1933 until 1945, the 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, limiting presidents to serving two terms.

The Congressional Research Service indicated that over the past seven decades, there have been scores of attempts to repeal the two-term limit as well as chatter among partisans about their favored president serving some overtime.

Just as there was some interest in the possibility of a third term for Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960, there was a push in 1973 by Richard Nixon supporters — pleased with the Republican's successful first term — to eliminate the constitutional obstacle to another four years. Apparently, there was also serious interest among supporters of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama to ax the 22nd Amendment in the interest of keeping their favorites politically viable for more time in the Oval Office.

There has also been interest in clearing the way for a third Trump term.

Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles (R) introduced a House joint resolution in January that would enable a president to serve three terms so long as he did not already serve two consecutive terms. Accordingly, Trump could serve a third term but Obama and Clinton would be unable.

'We have a long time to go.'

"[Trump] has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation's decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal," Ogles said in a statement. "To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms."

It is highly unlikely such a constitutional amendment would receive the required two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress as well as the required ratification of three-fourths of the state legislatures or state conventions.

"There are methods which you could do it," Trump told Welker when asked about whether he had seen plans detailing how he might pursue another term.

NBC News reportedly floated a possible scenario where Vice President JD Vance successfully won a presidential election then substituted Trump in. After all, the Constitution specifically prohibits reelection to a third term but does not explicitly prohibit a third term.

Legal scholars indicated in a Clinton-era paper published by the Minnesota Law Review that "a President nearing the end of his or her second term and determined to stay in office might run as Vice President with the idea that the President-elect would step aside, allowing the already twice-elected President (and Vice President-elect) to serve a third term without running afoul of the Twenty-Second Amendment's bar on reelection."

While "there would be inevitable conflict over its legality and wisdom," the paper noted that "the possibility of an already twice-elected President reassuming that Office also presents opportunities of potential benefit to the polity."

Trump, who would be nearing the age of 87 by the end of a third term, told NBC News the vice-presidential backdoor into a third term is one possibility, adding that "there are others too," without elaboration.

'I'm not joking.'

When asked about whether he would actually want another term, Trump told Welker, "I like working."

"I'm not joking," added Trump. "But I'm not — it is far too early to think about it."

When asked later in the day about his interest in a third term, Trump told reporters, "I'm not looking at that, but I'll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which is, in a way, a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election, was totally rigged. So it's actually sort of a fourth term in a certain way. I just don't want the credit for the second because Biden was so bad."

After claiming "some very important people" have complimented his second administration's accomplishments, Trump noted he doesn't want to talk about the possibility because "no matter how you look at it, we have a long time to go."

It is unclear if Trump is just trying to rile up his critics. While he has previously expressed interest in a third term, he told Time magazine last year he was not interested in repealing the 22nd Amendment and told House Republicans in November, "I suspect I won't be running again unless you say, 'He's so good we've got to figure something else out.'"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!