President Donald Trump spent part of his evening trying to project strength, teasing more power and more time still to come. Late-night posting rampages are nothing new for Trump, but this one landed differently. What stood out wasn’t just the boast, but how easily Trump appeared to glide past a basic reality check. He seemed to compress time itself, skipping over a stretch most people would instinctively account for and leaving readers wondering whether he was even tracking his own timeline. U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a speech after presenting the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) On Thursday evening, Trump posted a bold all caps message to his Truth Social account. “RECORD NUMBERS ALL OVER THE PLACE! SHOULD I TRY FOR A FOURTH TERM?”. The line landed less like a calculated political tease and more like an unforced error. Trump is currently serving his second term in office, making any reference to a “fourth” a mathematical impossibility, while even a third would run directly into the clear limits set by the U.S. Constitution. ‘She’s Absolute Trash’: Kristi Noem Loses Control of the Scene, Tries to Barrel Through It — Then One Detail Breaks the Moment and She Doesn’t Notice What Just Shifted That disconnect is precisely what fueled the reaction that followed. Social media users didn’t just mock the claim; they openly wondered whether the post reflected more than bravado. One commenter marveled that Trump could “write a sentence and make every word a lie,” adding that it either required a strange kind of talent — or pointed to something being seriously wrong. “Either that or he is completely batshit crazy and totally delusional. Or both. Probably both.” View on Threads Others were blunter, suggesting the moment looked less like strategy and more like deterioration, with one remarking that “Dementia is clearly winning.” While another added, “The people closest to him don’t love him. If they did they wouldn’t let him make a fool of himself.” And nearly everyone said Trump’s math wasn’t mathing.  “Numbers and laws aren’t his strong suit,” one observer put it. Another person agreed: “He can’t even do kindergarten math.”  Time for grandpa to take a nap…A fourth term is an absolutely Ludacris and mentally incoherent concept! Donald Trump needs to step down as president. pic.twitter.com/12LqPJOXfJ— Mark Bland (@markbland) January 23, 2026 Another jab took aim at the confusion Trump has long cultivated about his own tenure: “Um, although it feels like he’s served 3 terms already, grandpa needs to be reminded that this is, in fact, only his second term.” Back in the real world, the ridicule didn’t stop at bad math. Trump’s reference to “record numbers” clashed sharply with publicly available data showing that his approval ratings remain deeply under water. According to an AP-NORC poll conducted earlier this month, only about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of his performance in his second term. Brutal new NYT/Siena poll for Trump: -16 net approval and only 32% of voters say the country is better off than it was a year ago.He's underwater on all the issues:-17 on immigration-18 on the economy-19 on foreign relations-29 on the cost of living-44 on the Epstein files pic.twitter.com/gqpy4iKYf3— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) January 22, 2026 A New York Times–Siena poll released Thursday painted an even bleaker picture: 56 percent of voters said they disapproved of how Trump has handled major issues including the economy, immigration, the cost of living, and the management of the federal government. Nearly half of respondents — 49 percent — said the country was worse off than it was a year ago, before Trump was sworn in again, while fewer than a third believed conditions had improved. Trump’s sinking poll numbers were mirrored by the laugh-out-loud reaction across social platforms. One critic added: “What numbers? His approval ratings are in the sh-tter, just like the classified documents he stole.” Trump responded to the polls the way he often does — by attacking the messenger. He railed against the Times-Siena poll on social media, claiming without evidence that it was “fake” and declaring that it would be folded into his ongoing “lawsuit against The Failing New York Times.” Trump is crying about his COLLAPSING POLL NUMBERS. pic.twitter.com/ASi0pycVc4— Spencer Hakimian (@SpencerHakimian) January 22, 2026 Trump ended his first term with historically low support and began his second term similarly under water. When polls confirm those realities, he routinely invents alternative approval ratings for himself or alleges conspiracies designed to suppress the “REAL Polls,” which he insists “have been GREAT.” At times, his frustration escalates into legal threats. During the 2020 run, his campaign sent a cease-and-desist letter to CNN over a poll showing him trailing Joe Biden. CNN ignored the rancor, and no lawsuit followed. After returning to the White House, Trump took the escalation further, filing an unprecedented lawsuit against the Des Moines Register over a pre-election poll he disliked and later demanding investigations into independent polling outlets, calling pollsters “criminals.” Following the latest Times survey, Trump again went on a posting spree, writing that “Fake and Fraudulent Polling should be, virtually, a criminal offense,” and vowing to do “everything possible to keep this Polling SCAM from moving forward!” The notion that news organizations and pollsters are secretly colluding to damage Trump has never been supported by evidence. Even by Trump’s own standards, the idea stands out for its implausibility.  Some critics have suggested Trump is laying the groundwork for future claims of election unfairness that could destabilize the November midterms and, ultimately, the 2028 presidential election — potentially extending his hold on power beyond the two-term limit. Taken together, Trump’s obsession with polls and his muddled talk of a third term point toward a larger preoccupation with extending his time in office. In October, he told reporters that he “would love to” run again and declined to rule it out, saying, “Am I not ruling it out? I mean, you’ll have to tell me.” Days earlier, his former chief strategist Steve Bannon told The Economist there was a “plan” to get around the 22nd Amendment, though he declined to explain what it was, saying details would be shared “at the appropriate time.” ‘Dementia Is Clearly Winning’: Trump Tries to Flex About His Future, Only to Humiliate Himself in Public — and Viewers Say Anyone Who Loved Him Would’ve Deleted That Post ...read more read less