Trump lashes out suggesting he could stay in office after two terms, amid poor approval ratings

Donald Trump has suggested the American people would ask him to stay in the White House beyond two terms – in violation of the US constitution.

Lashing out after recent media coverage of polls which showed him losing in key 2020 battleground states to Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, he said he could see himself staying in office beyond 2024.

“The good news is that at the end of 6 years, after America has been made GREAT again and I leave the beautiful White House (do you think the people would demand that I stay longer? KEEP AMERICA GREAT),” he wrote.

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He also attacked The New York Times and Washington Post after they reported that his own campaign’s polling, along with publicly available data, showed he was behind many of the other top Democrats vying for their party’s nomination.

Calling them a “disgrace” and “the enemy of the people”, he has also claimed in recent days that his internal polling actually shows him “winning everywhere”.

Shape Created with Sketch. 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit Show all 20 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. 20 pictures that sum up President Trump's visit 1/20 An awkward greeting As the Queen welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace, he shared an awkward handshake with her. PA 2/20 "Oi Trump" Essex teenager Ollie Nancarrow mowed this message to Trump in a field near Stansted airport, in order that the president would be forced to see it as he came in to land. BornEco 3/20 A warm welcome Protesters gesture at the helicopter carrying the president as he arrives at Buckingham Palace on the first day of his visit. Getty 4/20 Inspecting the guard After arriving at Buckingham Palace, President Trump inspected an honour guard with Prince Charles. AP 5/20 Khan hits back After the president insulted Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, over Twitter as he landed in Britain, Khan hit back in this video released by Elle. PA 6/20 Mild reception on the Mall The Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace, was lacking in pomp as Trump arrived after his visit to Westminster Abbey, only a very small crowd turned out to see the spectacle. Reuters 7/20 Toast with the Queen The president shared a toast with the Queen at the state banquet on his first night in Britain. Reuters 8/20 Creepy kids This picture of Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, shared to Ivanka's Instagram, was described variously as "terrifying", like "nightmares" and "scarier than the shining." Getty 9/20 Rolling out the red carpet A red carpet was rolled out for the president's arrival to 10 Downing Street. Reuters 10/20 Meeting with May President Trump met with Prime Minister Theresa May on the second day of his visit. They did not speak privately but in a boardroom meeting. Reuters 11/20 Spouses get along First Lady Melania Trump and husband of the prime minister Philip May attended a garden party for the families of Downing Street staff while the two leaders were in their meeting. Getty 12/20 Baby blimp flies again The famous Trump baby blimp made a return in the protests against the president's visit, after first appearing in July last year. EPA 13/20 Crowd gathers A large crowd of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to protest the president's visit. Notable protesters included a man selling Donald Trump toilet paper and a man dressed as Vladimir Putin controlling a Trump puppet. PA 14/20 Protesters mix and mingle Supporters of the president and protesters of his visit clashed by Parliament Square on the second day of Trump's visit, with some supporters being hit by milkshakes. Reuters 15/20 Toilet Trump A 20ft statue of Trump tweeting while sitting on a golden toilet was placed in Trafalgar Square as protesters gather on the second day of the president's visit. Tom Batchelor / The Independent 16/20 Corbyn speaks In an address to protesters, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the president of spreading "hatred" and "racism" and expressed disappointment that Sadiq Khan had "been attacked in the way he was." PA 17/20 Churchill hat During his interview with the president on Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan gave Trump a hat of a style favoured by Winston Churchill, one of Trump's heroes. ITV 18/20 Bus stop baby Activists Special Patrol Group installed this poster in to several bus stops around Portsmouth ahead of the president's arrival for D-Day commemorations PA 19/20 Fly-past with the queen President Trump watched the Red Arrows fly-past with the Queen at an event in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings AFP/Getty 20/20 Commemoration speech The president gave a speech at an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Along with Trump, the prime minister and the royal family, French president Emmanuel Macron and 300 Second World War veterans were in attendance. AFP/Getty 1/20 An awkward greeting As the Queen welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace, he shared an awkward handshake with her. PA 2/20 "Oi Trump" Essex teenager Ollie Nancarrow mowed this message to Trump in a field near Stansted airport, in order that the president would be forced to see it as he came in to land. BornEco 3/20 A warm welcome Protesters gesture at the helicopter carrying the president as he arrives at Buckingham Palace on the first day of his visit. Getty 4/20 Inspecting the guard After arriving at Buckingham Palace, President Trump inspected an honour guard with Prince Charles. AP 5/20 Khan hits back After the president insulted Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, over Twitter as he landed in Britain, Khan hit back in this video released by Elle. PA 6/20 Mild reception on the Mall The Mall, the road leading to Buckingham Palace, was lacking in pomp as Trump arrived after his visit to Westminster Abbey, only a very small crowd turned out to see the spectacle. Reuters 7/20 Toast with the Queen The president shared a toast with the Queen at the state banquet on his first night in Britain. Reuters 8/20 Creepy kids This picture of Ivanka Trump and husband Jared Kushner, shared to Ivanka's Instagram, was described variously as "terrifying", like "nightmares" and "scarier than the shining." Getty 9/20 Rolling out the red carpet A red carpet was rolled out for the president's arrival to 10 Downing Street. Reuters 10/20 Meeting with May President Trump met with Prime Minister Theresa May on the second day of his visit. They did not speak privately but in a boardroom meeting. Reuters 11/20 Spouses get along First Lady Melania Trump and husband of the prime minister Philip May attended a garden party for the families of Downing Street staff while the two leaders were in their meeting. Getty 12/20 Baby blimp flies again The famous Trump baby blimp made a return in the protests against the president's visit, after first appearing in July last year. EPA 13/20 Crowd gathers A large crowd of protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square in London to protest the president's visit. Notable protesters included a man selling Donald Trump toilet paper and a man dressed as Vladimir Putin controlling a Trump puppet. PA 14/20 Protesters mix and mingle Supporters of the president and protesters of his visit clashed by Parliament Square on the second day of Trump's visit, with some supporters being hit by milkshakes. Reuters 15/20 Toilet Trump A 20ft statue of Trump tweeting while sitting on a golden toilet was placed in Trafalgar Square as protesters gather on the second day of the president's visit. Tom Batchelor / The Independent 16/20 Corbyn speaks In an address to protesters, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the president of spreading "hatred" and "racism" and expressed disappointment that Sadiq Khan had "been attacked in the way he was." PA 17/20 Churchill hat During his interview with the president on Good Morning Britain, Piers Morgan gave Trump a hat of a style favoured by Winston Churchill, one of Trump's heroes. ITV 18/20 Bus stop baby Activists Special Patrol Group installed this poster in to several bus stops around Portsmouth ahead of the president's arrival for D-Day commemorations PA 19/20 Fly-past with the queen President Trump watched the Red Arrows fly-past with the Queen at an event in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings AFP/Getty 20/20 Commemoration speech The president gave a speech at an event to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Along with Trump, the prime minister and the royal family, French president Emmanuel Macron and 300 Second World War veterans were in attendance. AFP/Getty

Mr Trump has repeatedly railed against the press and the negative coverage he has received first as a presidential candidate and then as a president.

He has also previously endorsed suggestions that he should stay in the White House after eight years as president, despite this running against the American constitution which states that presidents are limited to being elected to just two four-year terms.

The 22nd amendment to the constitution was ratified in 1951, imposing those term limits.

Mr Trump’s presidency has been dogged with low approval ratings since just after he took office in January of 2017.

While he enjoyed a small window in which his approval rating was higher than disapproval – a period of less than a month – his numbers have hovered just above 40 per cent ever since.

His current approval rating is 42.6 per cent, with 53 per cent of Americans saying they do not approve of the job he is doing as president, according to FiveThirtyEight.

That’s compared to the ratings seen by his predecessor Barack Obama, whose approval ratings during his presidency roughly oscillated between the low forties and mid fifties – with the latter not being uncommon.

He had a high 59 per cent approval rating in the last poll of his presidency by Gallup.