October 27, 2025

Good Monday evening. In this edition: Trump refuses to rule out third term but floats Rubio and Vance as potential successors.

• Plus, shutdown, Mamdani, Virginia and Indiana.

2028 & Asia Trip

President Trump again suggested he might seek a third term, telling reporters he would "love" to run in 2028 despite the U.S. Constitution barring presidents from serving more than two terms.

• "I would love to do it. I have the best numbers ever," he told reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo. "Am I not ruling it out? You'll have to tell me."

The president added that he "hasn't really thought about" another campaign and mentioned Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance as potential 2028 contenders.

• "We have great people. I don't have to get into that, but we have one of them standing right here," he said, gesturing to Secretary Rubio.
  
  
• "We have JD, obviously. The vice president is great. Marco is great. I think, I'm not sure if anybody would run against those two. I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable."

President Trump ruled out one potential avenue that some allies have floated as way of staying in power: running for vice president.

• "Yeah, I'd be allowed to do that," he told reporters. "But I wouldn't do that. I think it's too cute. Yeah, I would rule that out because it's too cute. I think the people wouldn't like that … it wouldn't be right."

The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, bars anyone from being elected president more than twice.

• If a person serves more than two years of another president's term, they may be elected only once more, capping total service at 10 years.

Nevertheless, President Trump has repeatedly declined to rule out another run and even sells "Trump 2028" merchandise on his website.

• Steve Bannon, his former chief strategist, drew attention last week by claiming there was "a plan" to keep President Trump in power for a third term.

President Trump's comments came as he was heading to Tokyo for the second leg of his weeklong trip to Asia, which is set to culminate with a meeting Thursday with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the APEC summit in South Korea.

• The president told reporters he expects to reach a trade agreement with China in the coming days. "I have a lot of respect for President Xi," he said. "I think we're going to come away with a deal."

On Sunday, President Trump participated in the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Accord, formalizing a ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand that he helped broker after a border dispute earlier this year.

• He also announced preliminary trade agreements with Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Early Monday, he met with Japanese Emperor Naruhito at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.

• The White House described the roughly 30-minute meeting with Japan's ceremonial head of state as a "courtesy call."

On Tuesday, the president is scheduled to meet with Sanae Takaichi, who made history last week when she was sworn in as Japan's first female prime minister.

• The hardline conservative is a protégé of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was close to President Trump before being assassinated in 2022.

Watch the president's remarks — and follow his entire trip.

In other news…

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) again filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), teeing up a 13th floor vote for Wednesday that's also expected to fail. Sen. Thune has also floated the possibility of holding floor votes on bills to pay some federal workers during the shutdown, which is now in its 27th day. The House, meanwhile, remains on its extended recess.
  
  

• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) endorsed New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani on Friday after months of hesitation following his surprise victory in the Democratic primary in June. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) accused Rep. Jeffries of bowing to pressure from his party's "far-left" wing, claiming the endorsement marked a "seismic shift" in the history of the Democratic Party.
  
  

• Virginia lawmakers assembled in a special legislative session to start the process of redrawing the state's congressional districts, joining the nationwide mid-decade gerrymandering battle that began in Texas at President Trump's behest. Democrats currently hold six of the Virginia's 11 congressional seats and hope to flip as many of three Republican districts with a new map, which would need to be approved in two consecutive legislative sessions before facing a statewide referendum.
  
  

• Indiana Gov. Mike Braun (R) also called a special legislative session to redraw the state's maps to better favor Republicans ahead of the midterms. "I am calling a special legislative session to protect Hoosiers from efforts in other states that seek to diminish their voice in Washington and ensure their representation in Congress is fair," he said in a statement. Republicans are hoping to flip the state's two Democratic districts to cement a completely Republican delegation.

For your radar…

• President Trump delivers remarks early Tuesday morning aboard the USS George Washington during a visit to Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. Watch LIVE on C-SPAN at 2:45am ET.

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