Dallas Mavericks owner pledges $250M for Trump third term: Odds for Trump running in 2028
By Paul Lebowitz in Politics News
Published:
- Miriam Adelson, owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Las Vegas Sands, has offered the President $250 million to run for a third term
- Trump has often mused about the possibility of an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to run again
- The President concedes that it’s unlikely based on the constitution, see odds that Trump will run again
Billionaire Miriam Adelson pledges $250M for third Trump term
Adelson, the billionaire Israeli-American and devoted Trump supporter, offered the President $250 million to try to change the U.S. Constitution and run again in 2028.
She made the offer during the Hanukkah celebration at the White House. Adelson owns the Dallas Mavericks and is the head of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, and has an estimated net worth of around $30 billion. Since President Trump is one of the most pro-Israel presidents in recent memory, it is understandable that the politically active businesswoman is enthusiastically encouraging Trump to pursue a third term.
The idea has been floated multiple times by Trump himself. Another influential voice who has pushed for it even more aggressively is Steve Bannon.
Rep. Andy Ogles, a Republican of Tennessee, proposed an amendment to the Constitution in January 2025, allowing Trump to run again. It went nowhere, but prompted a visceral response from the Democrats and Trump critics inside the Republican party. For Trump, that might be the point.
Still, the prediction markets provide odds for Trump outright announcing a run for 2028. The odds that he will are surprisingly high given the myriad obstacles.
Odds for Donald Trump’s third term as President
In most instances, the chance of any president running for a third term would be zero. With Trump, however, it’s been suggested so many times that it’s being taken seriously. And it should be. Few truly thought he would run for president in the first place. Trump running again in 2024 amid endless scandals, investigations, and prosecutions was seen as a desperate attempt to stay out of jail and maintain a semblance of his fortune.
By now, it’s unwise to bet against Trump when he is heavily invested in an endeavor.
The overwhelming expectation is that he will not run. But for “yes” to be at 20% prior to Election Day 2028, shows the possibility of a third term is being taken seriously. The odds drop to 10% for an announcement before 2028, and to 6% before 2027.
For those predicting he will run, Trump must announce as much before Nov. 7, 2028.
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Is Trump running again even possible?
The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits a president from running for a third term. Congress approved the amendment in 1947 after President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been elected to his third and fourth terms, the latter of which ended with his death in office in 1945. There are many hurdles for the rules to be potentially changed again.
The amendment would need to be proposed by a two-thirds vote in Congress, or via a national convention with two-thirds of the state legislatures in the nation calling for it. Thirty-eight of the 50 state legislatures or the state conventions would need to ratify it.
This would not happen. Despite that, tactics to circumvent the rule have been kicked around, including Trump being the Vice-Presidential nominee for the 2028 ticket. Should the GOP nominee win, they would resign so Trump could resume office. Naming him Speaker of the House was also discussed. These are blatant sleight-of-hand strategies that would fool no one.
Technically, it’s certainly possible. If anyone has the nerve to try something so brazen, it’s Trump.
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Why Trump could run in 2028
Beyond the $250 million offer from Adelson and how much Trump loves money, there are other reasons to explain it.
First, there are few better trolls than Donald J. Trump. Knowing how angry his enemies get at him for whatever he says and does, the idea of the constitutionally-mandated end date of his time as U.S. President suddenly being removed from the equation suits his purposes to agitate the opposition. He went so far as to have hats emblazoned with “Trump 2028” in the Oval Office when he met with New York Democrat antagonists Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries.
Second, Trump is keenly aware that the final two years of an outgoing president’s term are inevitably hindered by their lame duck status as the opposition in and outside the party tries to run out the clock. With the midterms approaching and the likelihood of big GOP losses from their majorities in both chambers of Congress, Trump pushing forward with running for a third term could give a minor pause to those who plan to obstruct his agenda.
In short, Trump cannot legally run again as things currently stand. But when has the status quo stopped Trump from doing anything he wanted to do? On that basis, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he will announce a 2028 run.
Paul Lebowitz is a novelist, columnist, social commentator, and the author of eight published books on baseball – one novel and seven baseball guide/previews. He covers sports, politics, and pop culture. Paul graduated from Hunter College with a degree in English. He lives in New York City.
