This could be Donald Trump's last hurrah. The former - and perhaps future - president announced that if he loses the election this fall, he will not seek the presidency again in 2028. 

Win or lose, a Trump-less 2028 would put his running mate, Senator J.D. Vance (Oh.), in a prime position to seek the White House four years from now.

Trump rules out 2028

Trump is a hale, vigorous 78 years old, but even he knows his limitations.

"No, I don’t. I think… that will be it. I don’t see that at all. Hopefully, we’re gonna be successful," Trump told TV host Sharyl Attkisson.

Trump has dominated American politics since his historic first presidential run in 2015 ended with a shocking upset against Hillary Clinton.

If elected in the fall, Trump would be only the second president since Grover Cleveland (who died in 1908!) to win two non-consecutive terms and the first to do so as a "convicted felon."

Twists and turns

The 2024 presidential race has been like no other: Trump has been convicted of felony charges in a Democrat-run show trial; he has had two brushes with death; and he has faced two different general election opponents after his old rival Joe Biden was swapped in an unprecedented Democrat coup.

Despite the bewildering twists and turns, a New York Times/Siena College poll released Monday showed Trump leading in key Sun Belt states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.

Trump told Attkisson that it would have been easier to serve two terms in a row, but being out of office had the upside of highlighting the destruction of his left-wing opponents.

“It would have been easier if I did it, you know, contiguous,” he said. “But the benefit is more than anything else, it shows how bad they were. It shows how bad this radical left liberal crazy philosophy is.”

Trump's second go-around

Indeed, the left has caused so much havoc in four years that a majority of Americans support Trump's proposal of mass deportations.

While Kamala Harris characterizes Trump as an aspiring dictator, clearly, Trump does not envision being in public office beyond 2028, at which point he would be 82 years old.

But Democrats have good reason to fear a second Trump term: if successful, he will return to Washington with more experience than his first go-around as a political outsider, and with a clear mandate to take drastic action against illegal immigration.

“I was a very consequential president, and would certainly be, and maybe even more so this time," he said.

Passing the torch

Despite pushing 80, many Americans believe Trump can do plenty of good for the country still - and Trump himself believes his second term could make an even bigger impact than his first.

Win or lose, Trump has anointed a formidable successor in J.D. Vance, a former Trump critic who has internalized his "Make America Great Again" message.

On the campaign trail, Vance has become known for his Trump-esque pugnacity and adroit handling of biased journalists. Vance's flair for controversy has brought plenty of criticism, but it is also likely to keep him at the top of the pile in the 2028 Republican primary.