White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview that President Donald Trump’s current term in Washington is temporary and will last four years, a statement that contrasts with Trump’s repeated claims that he could seek a third term.

“I view this job as public service,” Leavitt told Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law, in an interview that aired Friday. She added, “And I realize it’s temporary. President Trump is only here in D.C. for four years.”

Leavitt’s statement reflects the constitutional limit on presidential service and is notable because press secretaries speak on behalf of the White House. Trump can legally serve as president only until Jan. 20, 2029. Trump, however, has repeatedly claimed that he can run for a third term, including most recently during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Friday. He has also worn a Trump 2028 hat and argued that he deserves a third term because he lost the 2020 presidential election.

The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” and “no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.” Any change to that limit would require a constitutional amendment, not a unilateral decision by a president.

The interview was not the first time Leavitt’s public remarks drew attention. Earlier this month, her criticism of Senate Majority Leader John Thune was sharp enough that the South Dakota Republican responded, “Well, maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes. Right?”

Also in July, Leavitt faced criticism after describing younger Americans by saying, “My generation — I hate to say it, Gen Z and those younger than me —have been raised with just silver spoons in their mouths, just getting everything handed to them.”

Leavitt has also been criticized for a mixed metaphor. In July, she said Trump’s rhetoric “will shock you if you have an honest eye listening to the president.” Miles Taylor, a former Trump adviser at the Department of Homeland Security, responded jokingly: “yes, and if your ears watch closely, you'll be doubly stunned.”

The article’s author also cited a direct interaction with Leavitt. Speaking to the author for Salon shortly after the second assassination attempt against Trump in 2024, Leavitt objected to a historian’s comparison of Trump’s ongoing vilification of his opponents to the rhetoric of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

“It's been less [than] 72 hours since the second assassination attempt on President Trump's life and the media is already back to comparing President Trump to Hitler,” Leavitt told the reporter. “It's disgusting. This is why Americans have zero trust in the liberal mainstream media."