Bill Maher, the HBO host known for his brash political commentary, suggested Friday that President Donald J. Trump’s ongoing renovation of the White House signals ambitions that extend beyond the two-term constitutional limit — a claim that plays neatly into longstanding liberal anxieties over Trump’s political longevity.
Maher, speaking with former Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele and former Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield on “Real Time,” said that while he tries not to overreact to every news cycle, some developments are harder to ignore.
“I can’t get this mad about everything,” Maher said, before pointing to the demolition of the East Wing. Steele pressed him on his interpretation of the project. Maher responded bluntly: “The symbolism is he’s not leaving. That’s what bothers me about it. Who puts in a giant ballroom if you’re leaving?”
Maher described the president as “drunk with power,” suggesting that the construction — reportedly a 90,000-square-foot ballroom funded privately — could be evidence that Trump intends to maintain his grip on Washington even after his second term ends in 2029.
White House officials have emphasized that the project is aboveboard and scheduled for completion before the end of the term. Still, Maher fueled the conspiracy-tinged speculation that has become common among Trump critics, even quipping that the president “would not stop the demolition until he finds the [Jeffrey] Epstein files.”
Trump is no stranger to addressing the two-term question himself — often with a wink to supporters. On CNBC in August, he said he will “probably not” run in 2028. “I’d like to run,” he said. “I have the best poll numbers I’ve ever had.” In March, however, he told NBC’s Kristen Welker that he was “not joking” about the possibility of a third campaign. “We’re in the high 70s in many polls, in the real polls,” Trump said. “And you know, a lot of people would like me to do that.”
The Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s unprecedented four terms, clearly prohibits any attempt to seek a third. Repealing it would require overwhelming political support — two-thirds of Congress or a constitutional convention called by two-thirds of state legislatures, and approval by three-quarters of the states.
Yet Maher’s remarks were amplified by comments this week from former White House adviser Steve Bannon, who told The Economist that there was a “plan” to keep Trump in power in 2028. “Trump is going to be president in ’28, and people ought to just get accommodated with that,” Bannon said, refusing to elaborate except to promise details “at the appropriate time.”
When challenged that this would subvert the Constitution, Bannon fired back: “If the American people, with the mechanisms we have, put Trump back in office, are the American people tearing up the Constitution?”
While Trump’s critics frequently invoke dire warnings of democratic backsliding, the president’s allies frame these discussions as expressions of political strength — and of a public eager to keep him in command. Whether the country entertains such a prospect beyond 2029 remains not in the hands of late-night comedians, but in the far more complicated world of constitutional politics.
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