US4 min(s) read
A geopolitical analyst dubbed "China's Nostradamus" has made a haunting prediction about President Donald Trump.
Jiang Xueqin has built a reputation for forecasting global events using a mix of historical patterns and game theory.
He previously predicted Trump's 2024 election win and warned that if he returned to power, there "will be a very strong likelihood that the United States will go to war with Iran," both of which have since come to pass.
Now, the Yale-educated scholar's latest scenario may be among his most controversial, involving the president staying in the White House beyond the constitutional two-term limit, with the political fallout potentially pushing major American cities into revolt.
In an interview with podcaster Steven Bartlett, Jiang made his prediction clear: "My prediction number one is there will be a siege of New York City."
The 80-year-old has repeatedly spoken about serving a third term as president, despite the US Constitution's 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two elected terms.
The amendment was ratified in 1951, but Trump has publicly expressed his frustration with the restriction.
"I'm not allowed to run. It's too bad," he told reporters in October 2025.
He has also made several posts on his Truth Social page about another campaign and produced a range of "Trump 2028" merchandise. Meanwhile, one of his judicial nominees has refused to rule out third-term limits for presidents.
Jiang believes Trump will end up finding a way to remain in power following the 2028 election.
"Let's imagine what happens if Trump gets a third term. You would have a lot of pissed-off people, especially in the major cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and New York City," he said.
According to Jiang, there are many scenarios through which Trump could attempt to remain in office, although some would run directly into the Constitution's presidential term limit.
"Let's just say there is a national emergency and the president is forced to suspend the constitution," he says. "Then he could theoretically have his third term."
Jiang also suggested another hypothetical strategy involving Trump's eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.
He predicted that Trump could fund a presidential campaign for Donald Jr., who could then resign immediately after being sworn into office in favor of his running mate, Donald Trump.
"There's nothing in the constitution that prevents him from doing that," he said.
Jiang argued that much of the American political system has depended not only on written rules but also on politicians respecting the traditions.
"A lot of US politics is convention. It's agreed upon norms," he stressed. "But if a US president is like, 'Well, screw these conventions' there's nothing anyone else can do about it."
He believes that regardless of the result of the November 2028 election, Trump will still be in the White House in 2029.
Jiang believes another Trump term could lead to a political confrontation approaching civil war in Democratic-controlled cities.
"What will happen is these cities that are Democratic will be in open revolt, meaning they will refuse to pay taxes to the federal government, but they will also not welcome ICE federal agents into their cities," he said.
"Historically, if that were to happen, then the US president will usually think that he has responsibility to quash this insurrection," he continued. "This would over time lead to the siege of New York City - maybe federal forces along with possibly militias from other states, possibly red states that favour Trump."
"They would try to besiege New York City by cutting off the food supply and water supply to New York City. And this will be a conflict that could go on for years and years," he added.
Jiang's claims are only predictions, and the 22nd Amendment currently prevents the 80-year-old from being elected to a third term.
