By Neil Vigdor
Donald Trump, the president-elect, has pondered more than once the possibility of extending his upcoming term at the White House. But is he eligible to campaign for reelection in 2028 and pursue a third term? The straightforward answer: No, the Constitution prohibits it.
By the conclusion of his second term, Trump, now 78, would be the oldest president ever.
Here’s what sparked this discussion and the relevant legal framework:
What is Trump conveying regarding a third term?
Trump has at times delivered mixed and ambiguous signals regarding the duration of his potential time in office.
While addressing House Republicans recently about securing the White House and both Houses of Congress, Trump humorously suggested they could assist in extending his presidency.
“I doubt I’ll be running again unless you assert, ‘He’s so excellent we must come up with another plan,’” Trump stated.
In July, speaking at a gathering of religious conservatives, he told Christian attendees that if they elected him in November, they would never need to cast a vote again. “Christians, get out and vote. Just this once,” he mentioned. “You won’t have to do it again, you know what? Four more years, it’ll be sorted, it’ll be fine, you won’t need to vote again, my wonderful Christians.”
Addressing members of the National Rifle Association in May, he said: “I don’t know, will we be seen as three-term or two-term? Are we three-term or two-term if we succeed?”
And during his initial term, Trump implied to his supporters at a September 2020 rally in Nevada that term limits might not be absolute.
“We’re going to secure four more years in the White House,” he declared. “And after that, we’ll negotiate, right? Given how we were treated, we are probably entitled to another four after that.”
Yet when questioned by a New York Times reporter on Election Day whether the 2024 campaign would be his last, he replied, “I would imagine so.”
The origins of presidential term limits.
The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, ratified in 1951, stipulates that “no individual shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Kimberly Wehle, a constitutional law professor at the University of Baltimore and author of “How to Read the Constitution — and Why,” stated that the amendment leaves no room for misinterpretation and was designed to impose a restriction on presidential power.
“There was apprehension about perpetuating power in a king-like fashion,” she commented.
Nevertheless, she noted that Trump has shown a remarkable capacity to manipulate the Constitution, particularly having appointed three justices who form part of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority. She highlighted the court’s ruling in July that granted Trump considerable immunity from prosecution related to his attempts to overturn the previous election.
“Trump succeeded in altering the Constitution by executing actions no one believed were feasible, and then faced no consequences for his actions,” she remarked.
Serious or joking?
Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., is not regarding Trump’s recent jest as a trivial matter.
Immediately following Trump’s comment that House Republicans could facilitate a pathway to a third term, Goldman stated he would propose a resolution to reaffirm that the 22nd Amendment is applicable to presidents who serve nonconsecutive terms. The proposal is unlikely to gain traction in the House, given its Republican majority.
“His approach involves floating trial balloons that he often claims are humorous, yet he is very earnest about them,” Goldman, who was the lead counsel during Trump’s first impeachment in the House, said on Bloomberg TV. “And he has been discussing remaining in power beyond this next term for years.”
Representatives from Trump’s White House transition team did not immediately respond to a request for remarks.
Has a president ever held more than two terms?
Indeed. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to four terms, serving from 1933 to 1945 during the Great Depression and World War II. He passed away while in office. At that time, the 22nd Amendment did not exist; however, Roosevelt’s long tenure in power became a significant impetus for establishing term limits for presidents.
“Four terms, or sixteen years, is the most perilous threat to our freedom ever proposed,” Thomas E. Dewey commented in 1944. He was the New York governor and lost to Roosevelt in 1944 and to Harry S. Truman in 1948.
