Former President Trump said he does not expect to run again in 2028 if he loses the U.S. presidential election in November this year.
Trump, 78, has become the Republican nominee in three consecutive national elections and has dramatically reshaped the party over the past eight years.
In an interview with Sinclair Media Group, he was asked if he could foresee running again if he loses to Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. “No, I won’t. I think…that’s it,” Trump said. “I don’t think so at all.”
But he added, “Hopefully we will be very successful.”
US law prohibits presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms, so Trump is not expected to run in 2028 if he wins.
In the past, the real estate mogul has rarely acknowledged the possibility of losing the election, more often inciting supporters through speeches and social media posts promising victory at the polls.
But it was the second time in four days that he had mentioned the chance of failure.
At an Israel-U.S. Council event on Thursday, he alluded to the failure and suggested any such failure would be partly blamed on Jewish voters.
“Do they know what the hell is going to happen if I don’t win this election?” he said, according to multiple media reports. “If this happens, the Jews will have to do a lot because 40% [support] This means 60% of the people voted for the enemy.
The comments were condemned by the Harris campaign, the nonpartisan American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League.
Trump’s admission of possible defeat may reflect how the Democratic Party’s prospects have changed since Harris became the Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden decided to drop out of the race.
Her campaign raised more than $190m (£142m) in August, while the Trump campaign and its affiliated organizations raised $130m.
exist National poll average BBC tracking shows her leading Trump, and a CBS poll released on Sunday showed her leading Trump nationally 52 percent to 48 percent.
Harris leads by a slim margin of 51% to 49% in key U.S. swing states, a slight improvement from 50% in a similar BBC CBS poll last month.
Another NBC poll released on Sunday showed Harris leading Trump by 5 percentage points nationally.
The survey also found that 48% of registered voters view her favorably, up from 32% in July, the highest level of favorability for then-President George W. Bush since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The largest increase since the surge.
But like other surveys, the NBC poll shows Trump has a clear advantage among voters on some of the election’s biggest issues, including the economy, cost of living and immigration.
The BBC has contacted the Trump campaign for comment on the polling data.
