Up First from NPR
President Trump Third Term, Smithsonian Executive Order, Myanmar Earthquake
Mon, 31 Mar 2025
President Trump declines to rule out the possibility of serving a third term in office as the Constitution stipulates a two-term limit. The executive order "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" seeks to influence the Smithsonian Institution and the monuments and memorials overseen by the Department of the Interior. And, the death toll in Myanmar is rising as the window to find survivors following Friday's earthquake closes. Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Krishnadev Calamur, Clare Lombardo, Ryland Barton, Lisa Thomson and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Chris Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
Chapter 1: Will President Trump attempt a third term?
Will President Trump try to serve a third term? He won't rule it out.
I'll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term.
The Constitution says he cannot, so how would he get around that?
I'm Amy Martinez, that's Michelle Martin, and this is Up First from NPR News. A new executive order aims to reshape how American history is told through research, monuments and museums. You can't turn an ugly history into a glorious one unless you're not telling the truth.
What changes does the Trump administration want to make? And rescue workers in Myanmar are searching through rubble following Friday's earthquake. As the window to find survivors closes, the death toll is rising. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day. Could President Trump get elected to a third term in office? The Constitution says no.
But President Trump has declined to rule out the possibility of serving a third term. Yesterday, Trump told NBC News' Kristen Welker in a phone call that he is, quote, not joking about staying on as president and said there are ways he could, although he did not elaborate.
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Chapter 2: What are the constitutional obstacles to a third Trump term?
Joining us to talk about all this is NPR senior White House correspondent Tamara Keith, who was traveling with the president this weekend. Good morning, Tam. Good morning. So Trump has talked about serving a third term many times. I think people assumed he was joking. And based on the plain language of the 22nd Amendment, that would not be constitutional. So what's going on here?
You know, the way he talks about a third term, it's like he's keeping his options open. On Air Force One, I asked him about what he told NBC and asked if that means he's not planning to leave office. And here's what he said.
I'm not looking at that, but I'll tell you, I have had more people ask me to have a third term.
Later, I asked him again to clarify, are you planning to leave office on January 20th, 2029, or are you saying you might not? And he looked to the other reporters and said, any other questions? He also said it is still quite early to be having these conversations. And as you say, the 22nd Amendment bars a president from being elected to a third term.
But there are some novel legal theories that have been floated. And while they are quite far-fetched, the fact that Trump isn't dismissing it out of hand means it can't be ignored.
Is there support for a third Trump term, as he says?
Trump's approval rating is underwater right now, but these are better poll numbers than he's seen before. And there is something of a movement among his most ardent supporters to promote the idea of a third term. Earlier this month, Steve Bannon, who served in Trump's first White House and is now an influential podcaster, said that he not only thinks Trump should run, but that he'd win.
Separately, just three days into Trump's second term, a Republican congressman introduced a constitutional amendment to pave the way for a third Trump term. But just to go back to the Constitution, there are actually two amendments that would stand in his way. The 22nd Amendment is one of those. It was put in place after FDR served four terms.
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Chapter 3: What changes does the executive order propose for the Smithsonian?
Separately, the 12th Amendment prevents anyone disqualified constitutionally from being the president from being the vice president.
Is there a political reason for Trump to be saying this?
Yeah, you know, he's in his second and final term, unless something dramatic happens. And that means the clock is ticking on his power and relevance, because soon members of his own party will be running to replace him, and he will be seen as a lame duck. So teasing a third term has the potential, at least, to extend his influence.
Before we let you go, in his conversation with NBC's Kristen Welker, Trump also made news on tariffs. Tell us what he said there, please.
Yeah, he stood firm on the 25% tariffs on foreign automobile imports, including parts made outside of the U.S. He dismissed concerns that this could cause prices to rise for American consumers. He said, quote, I couldn't care less because if the prices on foreign cars go up, they're going to buy American cars. But even cars assembled in the U.S. often contain parts made in other countries.
The president is promising additional tariffs later this week. He is calling Wednesday Liberation Day. Economists warn higher tariffs mean increased costs for consumers, and polls show that voters just want the president to focus on bringing costs down.
That is NPR's Tamara Keith. Tam, thank you. You're welcome.
The Smithsonian is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, and it's comprised of 21 museums and libraries each, 14 education centers, and the National Zoo. The order also paves the way for the return of monuments that have been removed in recent years.
NPR Culture reporter Isabella Gomez-Sarmiento is with us now for more. Good morning, Isabella. Good morning. So the order is called Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History. Maybe start by telling us a bit more about what it says.
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Chapter 4: How does the executive order impact historical monuments?
A lot of this is about the people and stories that are highlighted at these museums and sites and the language used to describe American history. The order directs Vice President J.D. Vance, who is on the Smithsonian's Board of Regents, to oversee the removal of, quote, "'improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology' from the Smithsonian's museums and research centers."
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch sent an email on Friday telling staff that the Smithsonian will continue to employ internal review processes and that, quote, And we should note here, Lonnie Bunch was previously the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of the museums Trump singled out in the executive order.
There's also a section of the executive order focused on monuments. What does that say?
That's right. I mean, if we can rewind a little bit, there's been a growing movement in recent years to reflect on what history we honor in the U.S. and what may have been left out. But there was a turning point when a white police officer killed George Floyd, who was black, in 2020. His death sparked wide protests, and for a lot of people, it was a reexamining of this country's racial history.
Within a year and a half, 200 public Confederate symbols had been taken down, relocated, or renamed. That included things like monuments, school names, even road names. Those are numbers provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center, which is a legal and advocacy group which tracks Confederate iconography in the US.
I should say, the executive order isn't specifically about Confederate symbols, but it instructs the interior secretary to review monuments, markers, and statues that may have been taken down or changed since January 2020, more than a year before Trump left office in his first term, and restore them.
It calls for a wholesale review to make sure that memorials under interior department jurisdiction, quote, do not contain descriptions, depictions, or other content that inappropriately disparage Americans past or living, including persons living in colonial times.
Do we know what monuments could actually be put back up?
That's the big question, and it's pretty unclear right now. Seth Levy of the Southern Poverty Law Center says many of the sites that did see changes were on land controlled by municipalities and state governments, not land controlled by the Department of the Interior or any of the bureaus it oversees, like the National Park Service.
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