The irrepressible Bob LaBrant, a retired attorney living in Perry, Michigan, has ben puzzling over the question of whether Donald Trump can run for a third term as President of the United States. LaBrant has decided that we should look to the “Qatar 747” gift airplane for the answer:
“HOW CAN TRUMP RUN FOR A THIRD TERM? LOOK TO THE QATAR 747 GIFT FOR THE ANSWER
“Donald Trump is not a person who follows the adage that “It’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission.” He does neither. He just believes nobody is going to stop him.
“Soon after the 2026 mid-term elections, regardless of the outcomes, consider this scenario:
“Trump appears at CPAC wearing a Trump 2028 red hat, announcing he is running for re-election. The conservative conclave erupts in adulation, and later the conference concludes with a straw ballot that Trump wins overwhelmingly. He doesn’t explain how he can run. He plans to ignore the 22nd amendment just like he has ignored daily the emoluments clause of the Constitution, including the recent gift from Qatar of a 747 airplane to serve as Air Force 1, one that Trump can take with him whenever he leaves office.
“The emoluments clause in Article I, Section 9, requires foreign gifts to be approved by the U.S. Congress. However, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has already started the process of turning the Qatar airplane over to the U.S. Air Force for conversion into Air Force 1. What are the odds Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune permit a roll call vote on the gift’s approval to be recorded in each chamber? Yet another step in making the emoluments clause irrelevant.
“A short time later, at the RNC’s 2027 winter meeting, Trump speaks and, just as he did at CPAC, tells the assembled national committeemen and committeewomen and state chairs that he has a mandate from the 2024 election to run again. He ignores explaining the 22nd amendment. For Trump, it’s always complain, never explain.
“RNC Rule resolutions will be introduced and adopted like those which were in place in 2019-2020 that discouraged any challenge to incumbent Trump.
“Some state GOP parties later may even attempt to substitute caucuses for presidential primaries to select 2028 convention delegates.
“Vice President J.D. Vance will be President Trump’s biggest cheerleader for re-election.
“In 2024, out-of-office Trump was again a presidential candidate. Trump maintained his MAGA base, even though he had been defeated for re-election in 2020 and, while in office, had been twice impeached. After he left office, he was twice federally indicted. Besides Trump, eight other Republican candidates ran for president in 2024: Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Rick Scott, Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Doug Burgum, and Mike Pence. Trump ignored them. Trump didn’t participate in any debates with them. The primaries were akin to Snow White and the seven dwarfs plus one. Expect few, if any, challengers to Trump for the 2028 Republican nomination.
“Trump will run for reelection, albeit unconstitutionally. Lawsuits will be filed to prohibit his placement on primary ballots. Trump’s legal team will assert standing issues to whomever brings a lawsuit seeking to keep Trump off a primary ballot.
“The Trump legal team also will tell state courts that the 22nd amendment only applies to SERVING, not running, for a third term and that any litigation brought before the Republican National Convention or even the November election is speculative and premature. They may even attempt to make the distinction between two consecutive terms and two non-consecutive terms.
“The Trump legal team will use all of the arguments they used when Trump’s candidacy was challenged in 2023-2024 in the Colorado case of Trump v Anderson, using the insurrection ‘bar to office’ provisions found in Section 3 of the 14th amendment. At the Supreme Court in 2024, Trump lawyers argued successfully that one state alone couldn’t keep Trump off the ballot. The Court said Section 3 is not self-executing, requiring Congress to first act. Expect to see the “not self-executing” argument raised again in the context of an emoluments clause defense if a foreign gift is accepted without receiving Congressional approval. What was once a norm would be turned into a technicality.
“Trump will use his primary election successes week after week from January to June, 2028, to condition public opinion that he has achieved a mandate from voters to be placed on the November ballot notwithstanding the 22nd amendment.
“If Trump wins in the electoral college on December 19, 2028, after the Supreme Court has slow-walked any 22nd amendment challenge, the Supreme Court may decide that this is a political question that has been decided by the electoral college and not interfere. Like the emoluments clause under both Trump presidencies, the 22nd amendment will fade away into irrelevance for any incumbent who rejects norms, and treats the Constitution like a suggestion.”
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AUTHOR! AUTHOR!
Few know, or remember, that former state Rep. Chuck Moss (R-Birmingham), who was chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee during his stint in the state capital of Lansing (2007-2012), was a thoughtful (and funny!) columnist for The Detroit News, The Oakland Press, and other newspapers back before he got into politics. He can still keep us entertained, as in the following:
“March was National Reading Month, and Spring seems to be Book Time for aspiring politicos. Both Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and state Senator Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) have released books to the reading public. The fact they’re both running for higher office may or may not be a coincidence.
“Benson’s book is called “The Purposeful Warrior, A Road Map for Shattering the Status Quo and Standing Up For Ourselves, Our Communities, and Our Country.” Benson is a declared candidate for Governor. U.S. Senate candidate McMorrow’s book is “Hate Won’t Win: Find Your Power and Leave This Place Better Than You Found It.”
“We shouldn’t forget Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s memoir “True Gretch: What I’ve Learned About Life, Leadership, and Everything in Between,” published just before the Democratic National Convention last summer. It didn’t get her the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination due to circumstances beyond her control, but there’s always tomorrow.
“So, candidates and books — does it help? “It gives you more gravitas,” says Steve Mitchell, of Mitchell Research and Communications. A veteran pollster and campaign consultant, Mitchell says candidates-turned-authors help themselves in two ways.
“One, they find a reason to get publicity about the book, which gets them in front of the public in a positive way. You get interviewed, you get known. Two, it makes you perceived as a more serious candidate, and someone worth listening to because you’ve written a book.”
“Recent books that helped their author’s political fortunes include “Hillbilly Elegy,” by Ohio’s J.D. Vance, now Vice President. Then there was “Born Fighting, How the Scots-Irish Shaped America,” by later-U.S. Senator James Webb of Virginia. Of course, there was “Dreams From My Father,” by U.S. Senator Barack Obama, originally published in 1995 and republished in 2004 when he was running for the U.S. Senate in Illinois (he won). Earlier, back here in Michigan, we had “O Congress,” published in 1972 by then-Congressman Don Reigle, elected in 1976 to the U.S. Senate and re-elected twice more.
“The granddaddy of them all is probably “Profiles In Courage,” published in 1956 by U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.). There have long been suspicions that it was actually ghost-written by ace speechwriter Ted Sorenson; nevertheless, it won the Pulitzer Prize and gave young Jack some badly needed gravitas. It clearly worked — JFK was elected President in 1960. The man he defeated, Richard Nixon, later published the best seller “Six Crises” in 1962, when he was running for Governor of California — he lost that race, but wasn’t he elected president in 1968 and re-elected in 1972?
“What about other candidates and mediums? A reality TV star comes to mind: “The Apprentice’s” Donald Trump, who also wrote 1987’s “The Art of the Deal” — which few read but everybody should. “You’re Fired!”
“Other media? In Michigan we have Tudor Dixon, the GOP’s 2022 challenger to Whitmer. She’s a 2026 gubernatorial or U.S. Senate possibility. She’s a popular podcaster: Tudor Dixon. Republican former auto dealer Kevin Rinke also ran for Governor in ’22. He has a podcast on Spotify. Beyond the Echo with Kevin Rinke | Podcast on Spotify. A future Governor or Senator coming out of podcasts? If Reality Shows work…
“Of course, there’s always former Governor John Engler, who ‘wrote the book’ on how to get your way in Lansing. Unfortunately, he’s never actually written it down, let alone published it. Darn!”
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What I have seen in Donald Trump’s situation is that his image as an anti-establishment figure revered by outsiders since he constantly beats those trying to ruin him.
Jack Smith expends tens of millions of dollars on two federal prosecutions that netted him ZILCH!. The federal judge presiding over the District of Columbia criminal case is labeled by Trump as coming from a “Marxist family” and is yelled at by Trump’s defense counsel in a court hearing. He then pardons hundreds of January 6th “insurrectionists.”
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is made a laughingstock and labeled as “incompetent” by Trump after the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualifies her from the “fake elector” prosecution.
The Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bowman saved face by obtaining a conviction against Trump – but the sentence was a discharge from the Court’s jurisdiction.
Some Democrats floated the notion after Trump’s 2016 election win that he was unbalanced mentally. This frivolous assertion became even more silly after it was clear Biden was suffering from senility issues that these same Dem leaders to great pains to deny and hide from the public..
Trump is a populist hero to the alt-right and most of middle class America. Americans despise the intrusions by the government into their lives and view Trump as someone who beat the corrupt and evil justice system.
What LaBrandt is espousing is more legal gobbledygook that will NEVER fly in court. Until Democrats and Never-Trumpers in the GOP accept this they will continue to spin their wheels and make Trump even more popular.
Joel Dowley says
(Edit)Leanne is dead on correct.
Nice article Bill, light and funny for a very nice spring afternoon.
The first question appeals to two types of folks, those with TDS (Trump Derangement Syndrome) and TAS (Trump Adoration Syndrome). The answer to the first question, NO. But reading the various ways to get around the 22nd amendment reminded me of some of the convoluted excuses made as to why my algebra homework was done poorly.
Number two is a bit interesting. The Kennedy and Nixon books were written a few years before they won the Presidency and there was no internet except in Sci-Fi. People knew of them because they read them. (I do admit that Profiles in Courage did not get Kennedy the VP nomination in 1956, or Nixon elected governor in 1952, but those weren’t the offices they craved). The Benson and McMorrow books were written to boost their candidacies and bul buying is a way to boost their income. Time will tell if good PR and so-so book sales can overcome performance in office.
I was unaware that Dixon and Rinke had podcasts, but I can’t get them on my landline anyway.
And as for Engler (not my favorite governor), I think that Governor Whitmer, Lt. Governor Gilchrist, former Speaker Tate, SOS Benson, AG Nessel, the AFL-CIO all wish that Engler did actually put in writing so they could have read it. Had he written it and they read it, their past lame duck session would have been much more pleasing to them and their base, and they would not have to want/beg current Speaker Hall to do them a favor that would irritate (to say the least) a good hunk of his base. Methinks that fixing or undoing former Speaker Tate’s screw ups, and the lack of attention that the other folks listed above paid to what their jobs entail at the end of a legislative session does not make Speaker Hall’s top 10,000 things to do list. But I suspect we may have to wait for him to write his book.
Mr. Sullivan, (can I call you that? Or is that your father?), thank you for introducing me to the TAS term. I was not aware of that one. I thought I’d just be lumped in with the MAGA “deplorable” crowd, though I should confess I don’t personally consider myself MAGA, but anything more would just be bragging. So, yes, I’ll gladly wear your TAS tag.
I’ve mentioned elsewhere that Trump was not close to being my first choice in 2015. I never watched, The Apprentice, though I just finished, The Art of the Deal. But when a pseudo politician begins generating policies I totally harmonize with . . . what can I say? My brain tells me to hop on board.
Did you find yourself, like me, feeling sorry for Mr. LaBrant, that he seems to be uneasy in retirement and should consider going back to practice? To me, he seems a nice man (why else would Bill feature him) but unable to deal with the potential that his political affiliation may be losing luster, or he just can’t seem to shut down his trial lawyer inner nature. How can anyone let so many wild paranoid fears pass through their consciousness with such little likelihood of bearing fruit? Do all lawyers think this way?
One thing for sure, if his night scares get traction someday, and he, or someone, gets to enact his fondest litigation dreams, then not just Trump, but we all (and I mean all; them and us) are surely screwed (a technical term).
Dear Royal,
I believe that Mr. LaBrant misses the GOP as it existed when Engler – and even Snyder – were governor, reliably pro-business, pro tax cut (usually for businesses over workers) and pro-deregulation and laments its demise. Those days he misses are gone.
Donald Trump has remade the GOP into a more populist party and less deferential to business interests as demonstrated by his assault on the Federalist Society and the imposition of tariffs. The problem Trump has is that there is still a significant part of the GOP in Congress who think more like Mr. LaBrant, and in competitive seats, would prefer a Democrat elected than a Trumpian Republican (see the senate seats in Arizona and Nevada, as well as the governorship of Kansas. This problem extends to Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune (both of whom I suspect are closer to the LaBrant GOP than the Trump GOP) who effectively have to herd cats to get anything done.
His views on the upcoming 2026 elections will be fun to watch, as will the elections for both parties.
And I usually respond to Tim. I was last called Mr. Sullivan when I was a student teacher back in the Carter Administration. Just don’t call me late for dinner. Or beer.
Tim/
Thank you, and a tip o’ the Widow Maker Black Ale, to you! 🙂
Good stuff from Keweenaw Brewing Co,!
I am one of many who feel our country is slow walking toward a significant revolution, and Trump’s defiance of our Constitution in running again would be the perfect precipitator. As bizarre as he is now, one can only imagine what seven more years of his lunacy might look and feel like…..enough is enough already.
Donald Trump took Michigan in 2024 by the largest margin since any GOP presidential nominee since George H.W. Bush in 1988. The completely sane and respected GOP senatorial Mike Rogers lost in his bid for a U.S. Senate seat in the same election cycle.
True lunacy was the Joe Biden administration neglecting the Gaza War while Trump made visits to Hamtramck and Dearborn and promoted peace to residents there. It struck a chord with voters.
The truth is that voters are tiring of establishment candidates from both parties – career politicians that are more loyal to their respective parties than their constituents.
This is why Tom Barrett, Mallory McMorrow and Rylee Linting scored impressive electoral victories and career pols like Curtis Hertel, Jr. went down in defeat.
Robert Nelson says
(Edit)So Slotkin’s win was not impressive? Hertel was a flawed candidate.
Trump is now proving that he never cared for folks in Gaza. Biden would have helped them more but he was forced to curry favor to Netenyahu
It is quite astonishing that a large segment of the US population sees nothing wrong with ignoring the law and the US Constitution. They are accepting one bogus excuse after another for his misconduct and incompetence. I don’t think Trump is going to get a third term even through the scenario LaBrant poses, as his age is a problem. Other Republicans will challenge Trump, using his age and the 22nd Amendment to make him more vulnerable than he was in 2024. I also do not think the current US Supreme Court, as forgiving as they have been to Trump to date, will go so far as to allow him another term. If he stays in power beyond his current term, it will only be by a violent overthrow of American democracy, but better done than his first attempt. Those barriers to a third term for Trump do not console me.What has happened in a few months tells me that in another year or so the damage being done by Trump to the things that actually made America great will be such that it cannot be undone for decades, if at all.
Jack Smith and Fani Willis would likely agree with you – but they did not fare too well in court against Trump’s defense team.
Trump’s personal attorneys were successful in delaying trials by filing numerous motions and appeals, putting off the day of reckoning until he was elected president again. He also got cooperation from the USSC, a huge asset for a criminal defendant, and in a federal case in particular. The only case that got to the merits he lost. But you are essentially correct, Jack Smith took too long, probably not expecting Trump to be elected again. Fani Willis did something stupid when she had the strongest case in her hands, and that was enough to save Trump. History professors will talk about these incidents for years to come, if they are allowed to talk about these events at all.
““The granddaddy of them all is probably “Profiles In Courage,” published in 1956 by U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy (D-Mass.).”
Theodore Roosevelt was an accomplished book author before his Presidency and his books popularized him among voters across the political spectrum. TR and Churchill set the standard for self promotion via authorship.
Thomas Jefferson probably would have been a book author, but paper and book printing was rare & expensive prior to the Civil War, so most political writing in his era was tracts.
It is too early to be certain, but Benson’s and McMorrow’s books will probably sell less than 1,000 copies each and few of those copies will be read, except by lobbyists.
In the age of the cell phone, books are dying. These political books look good on shelves behind talking heads on podcasts and cable interviews, but today they really only provide fodder for opposition research.
Hopefully the nightmare described by Bob LaBrant will not materialize. However until the Courts do their job to uphold the Constitution buckle your seatbelts .
Maybe father time has other plans to the delight of JD Vance . Mr. LaBrant’s insights are very sobering !
LaBrant calls to mind a Robert A. Heinlein quote, ” Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done”.
Reading material which just might affect the 2026 Governor’s race:
Representatives. DeSana, Schriver, Markkanen, Greene, Maddock, Fox and Smit offered House Resolution 118: “A resolution directing the impeachment of Jocelyn Benson.”
U.S. DoJ EDoM posted an interesting press release yesterday. Santa Ono may want to read it now that his Florida gig fell through and he is most likely coming back to U of M:
‘Chinese Nationals Charged with Conspiracy and Smuggling a Dangerous Biological Pathogen into the U.S. for their Work at a University of Michigan Laboratory’
Also wonder whether this will affect U of M funding and the the 2026 races. Farmers and our agricultural industry may question state support for CCP sabotage of their crops.
Sovereignty beat Journalism convincingly to win the 57th Belmont Stakes in upstate New York last night.
10x25mm says
(Edit)Sovereignty beat Journalism convincingly to win the 157th Belmont Stakes in upstate New York last night.