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Donald Trump, Franklin Roosevelt and the Allure of Permanent Power 
Chris Stirewalt /

Donald Trump, Franklin Roosevelt and the Allure of Permanent Power 

Why the president’s talk about a third term should be treated as a credible threat.
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Illustration by Noah Hickey. (Photo of Franklin Roosevelt from the Bettman Collection/Getty Images. Photo of Donald Trump by Win McNamee/Getty Images.)

“You know, FDR. 16 years. Almost 16 years. He was four-term. I don't know, are we going to be considered three-term or two-term? You tell me.”

Then-candidate Donald Trump speaking to the National Rifle Association, May 2024.

Four years ago at about this moment, in the still-early days of his administration, Joe Biden was taking a fateful ego trip.

Chris Stirewalt is a contributing writer for The Dispatch, the politics editor for The Hill and NewsNation, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, co-host of the Ink Stained Wretches podcast, and author of Broken News, a book on media and politics.

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