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Progressive political commentator Larry McKelvey, better known as Charlamagne Tha God, argued the White House ballroom project is all the proof needed to show President Donald Trump intends to run for a third term.
But “The Late Show” guest host’s rhetoric is raising concerns among those who believe it could incite violence.
“Do you seriously think he’s building that for the next guy?” Charlamagne questioned during Wednesday’s episode.
“You think he likes J.D. Vance that much? You think he’s doing that level of solid for Marco Rubio?” he added, referencing the two most likely successors to the MAGA empire — the vice president and secretary of State.
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Charlamagne tha God speaks onstage at day 2 of the 2025 HOPE Global Forum at Signia by Hilton Atlanta on Dec. 2, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
Charlamagne’s comments, couched in hyperbolic jokes, raised far-left accusations that Trump has displayed a king-like disregard for limits in his second term — and even mirror the president’s own jokes about violating constitutional limits.
“I’m not asking Trump not to run for a third term,” Charlamagne conceded. “Trump is going to Trump. What I’m asking is for the Republican Party to be honest for once and tell us whether or not you want this man to be king, okay? I’m tired of edging dictatorship.”
Hogan Gidley, a former White House deputy press secretary, believes some viewers aren’t going to take the comments as a joke.
“They have no clue what their comments actually mean to those out there who want to commit acts of violence, which is ignorant and bad enough,” Gidley told Fox News Digital, noting the multiple assassination attempts against Trump and members of his administration.
“Or — they know exactly what they’re doing, creating a permission structure for violence. Either way, it’s hurtful to our country,” he added.
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Hogan Gidley speaks during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Feb. 21, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski / AFP) (Photo by ALEX WROBLEWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Under the 22nd Amendment, presidents of the United States are limited to two terms — a change made in 1951 after Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) served four.
While firmly noting that comedians have a right under the First Amendment to address issues of their choosing, Gidley says he doubts the White House renovations are proof that Trump wants to overcome that limit.
“Context matters,” Gidley said.
“For safety and security, it makes complete sense to have a facility that all presidents can use to entertain foreign heads of state, to entertain different guests on various occasions under the watchful eye of a controlled space.”
At the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner last month, Trump faced a third assassination attempt when a gunman charged a Secret Service security checkpoint at the event at the Washington Hilton.
Trump noted that a space like the future ballroom could be used for such events to provide a more secure venue.
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President Donald Trump holds a design rendering of a proposed $400 million presidential ballroom at the White House. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg)
Charlamagne, for his part, comedically painted a vision for how Trump might use the ballroom in a third term.
“On January 20th, 2029, Trump is going to go into that ballroom, with a stack of hustlers, a crate of Big Macs and lock the door from the inside,” Charlamagne said.
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Construction of the ballroom, which spans 90,000 square feet and is designed to seat 650 attendees, is scheduled to finish before the end of Trump’s second term, according to press releases from the White House.
The Daily Show did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital. Neither did the White House when asked for reaction to the comedian and political commentator’s comments.