Donald Trump Hints At Constitution-Breaking 3rd Term As President. Details Here

Donald Trump, who has recently been elected for a second term as President of the United States, has told House Republicans that he might consider a constitution-breaking third term in office. President-elect Trump, who has a penchant for making controversial statements, said “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you (supporters) say otherwise”.

During his speech to fellow Republicans elected to the House of Representatives, Mr Trump said, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say, ‘He’s good, we got to figure something else’.” His statement at a hotel in Washington DC ahead of his meeting with President Joe Biden was cheered by his supporters.

It is common knowledge that there are provisions in place in the US Constitution which restricts a US President from standing for re-election for a third term, but how safe are those safeguards? Here’s a look at whether Donald Trump can run again for presidency in 2028.

The 22nd Amendment of the United States Constitution stops any President from running for a third term, so if Donald Trump wants to seek a third term, he will first have to scrap that amendment. Doing so is a daunting task as it requires the President to garner an overwhelming amount of support from Congress as well as state legislatures. This is something that Trump is unlikely to be able to achieve.

According to an article in US-based news website Vox, which interviewed a law professor from Stanford University who specialises in constitutional interpretation, a question about the possibility of such a Constitutional amendment was asked. His reply was clear – “No, there are none. This will be his last run for President,” the law professor said.

WHAT IS THE 22nd AMENDMENT?

The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution says that a President can have two terms in office and no further. It is applicable to Presidents, both in consecutive and non-consecutive terms.

According to Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.”

While Section 2 states that “This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.”

HISTORY OF THE 22nd AMENDMENT

The provision to restrict US Presidents strictly to a maximum of two terms first came into force in 1951, when both Republicans and Democrats had demanded for such a provision to be in place. This was because former US President Franklin D Roosevelt was elected to the highest office for an unprecedented four times. In 1945, he had died in office during his fourth term.

Though Roosevelt was the only President to be elected more than two times, American lawmakers from both parties had decided that the presidential terms must have a ceiling limit, and hence the 22nd Amendment came into force, restricting all Presidents then on to a maximum of two terms.

Since US’s first President and founding father George Washington had served for a maximum of two terms, both parties agreed that this was the legacy to be followed.

CAN AN AMENDMENT IN THE US CONSTITUTION BE REPEALED?

The checks and balances in place to ensure that an Amendment to the Constitution is not easily repealed are watertight. It dissuades and discourages amendments from being scrapped or repealed. However, it is not impossible.

In order to do so, a bill for such order would have to be agreed to by two-thirds majority (67 per cent) of both the House and the Senate. The House of Representatives has 435 members, of which 290 must vote for such a revocation. Similarly, in the Senate, which has 100 members, 67 must agree with it. That is not all. Should a bill be passed by the House and the Senate, it then goes to each of the states – which need to pass it with a three-fourths majority, and since the United States of America are 50 states, 38 of them would have to agree to it.

It is safe to assume that to cross all three hurdles would be highly unlikely for Donald Trump.