claim: u.s. president donald trump said he will not leave office at the end of his elected term.
question: did trump say he won’t leave office at end of elected term?
origin: in mid-june 2020, social media users shared posts saying u.s. president donald trump had once suggested he won’t leave office at the end of his elected term, prompting readers to ask snopes if he actually said such a thing.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the queries appeared to be based on a speech trump gave in december 2019 at the israeli-american council [iac] national summit, during remarks about his administration’s controversial decision to move the u.s. embassy in israel from tel aviv to jerusalem. in the rambling speech, trump addressed his friend, billionaire businessman and campaign donor sheldon adelson, and stated the new embassy building would be constructed with “jerusalem stone.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  in the comments, trump also appeared to be deriding his critics, who had expressed fears that he would not willingly leave office if termed out, or if he lost reelection. here are his exact words:
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the president: no, but think of this. think of this, right? so we’re going to spend $2 billion. it wouldn’t be built, sheldon, for 10 years, fif- — don’t forget: at some point, whether it’s 5 years from now, 9 years from now, 13 years from now — i’m doing this to drive the media crazy. (applause.) because a lot of them say, “you know he’s not leaving, don’t you?” one of these characters — these people are so stupid. one of them said — one of them said, “you know he’s going to win, don’t you? and you know, at the end of his second term, you know he’s not leaving. he’s not leaving. you know that.” and i thought he’s a comedian. i thought he was kidding. he’s for real. so now we have to start thinking about that, because it’s not a bad idea. (applause.)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  no, but these people are going crazy. when they all scream, “four more years, four more years,” i always say, “make it 12 years and you’ll drive them crazy.” twelve more years. but if i don’t get the build- —
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  audience: twelve more years!
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  the president: (laughs.) but if i don’t get the building built, it’s never going to get built because you’re going to have some guy like obama or crooked hillary.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  audience: booo —
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  but though he has joked about it more than once, we’ve found no instances of trump seriously stating he wouldn’t leave office. in june 2020, he told fox news he will leave office to “go on, do other things” if not re-elected.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  we therefore rate this claim “mostly false.”
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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comment: u.s. president donald made the comments as part of a jab against his critics and journalists.
summary: in a speech in december 2019, president donald trump said the new u.s. embassy in israel would be constructed with “jerusalem stone.” in the speech, trump also appeared to be deriding his critics, who had expressed fears that he would not willingly leave office if termed out, or if he lost reelection. but though he has joked about it more than once, we’ve found no instances of trump seriously stating he wouldn't leave. we therefore rate this claim ‘mostly false'