‘The View’ co-host ‘scared’ over Sotomayor response on Trump potentially seeking a third term

“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin said Tuesday that her show’s interview with Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor scared her because of what the justice said about President Donald Trump.

Hostin claimed that Sotomayor’s answer on whether Trump could secure a third White House term disturbed her. Though the justice told the hosts that the 22nd Amendment prevented Trump from seeking a third term, Sotomayor noted that it had never been tested — a statement that struck Hostin as ominous. 

“It scared me,” the co-host declared during the latest episode of “The View: Behind The Table” podcast. 

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“And she said the Constitution should be the highest law of the land. Should be. She sort of clarified it, and that scared me,” Hostin added, after co-host Joy Behar said Trump doesn’t follow the rules.

Trump has teased the idea of seeking a third term, telling NBC News in March 2025 that he’s “not joking” about it. 

“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump told the outlet in a phone interview on Sunday. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.”

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During Tuesday’s episode of the ABC daytime talk show, co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked Sotomayor whether Trump seeking a third term is possible.

“There has been talk Donald Trump might seek a third term. It’s my personal belief that if he did, the Republican Party would likely support him. I want to ask you: obviously, the 22nd Amendment prohibits somebody from seeking a third term. Do you believe the 22nd Amendment is settled law?”

“The Constitution is settled law,” Sotomayor replied. “No one has tried to challenge that. Until somebody tries, you don’t know. So, it’s not settled because we don’t have a court case about that issue. But it is in the Constitution, and one should understand that there’s nothing that is the greater law in the United States than the Constitution of the United States.”

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As Hostin explained during the podcast, Sotomayor’s point about it never being tested bothered her. 

“Supreme Court justices are usually very reluctant and guarded to say – they don’t say much. And her answer, I think, in particular to whether or not Donald Trump would seek a third term – even though the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution prevents that was––”

“Was vague?” Behar asked.

“No, it wasn’t vague. I thought it was pretty clear. She said it hadn’t been tested yet. There’s no case.”

Behar added, “Anything that he does that overwhelms or overtakes anything that’s in the Constitution – ‘cause he doesn’t follow the rules. And it hasn’t been done before. No one has done any of the things that he has done.”