Barred from running for a third term, Trump keeps talking about it
Barred from running for a third term, Trump keeps talking about it
Trump raised the topic of another term Thursday during a Black History Month event at the White House and during a speech to Republican governors.
Summary
Despite the 22nd Amendment barring a third term (“No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”), Trump continues to suggest he could run again, raising the idea at a Black History Month event and with Republican governors.
Legal experts say the Constitution is clear that he cannot run, though some supporters, including Rep. Andy Ogles and Steve Bannon, are pushing for a constitutional amendment or a 2028 campaign.
Meanwhile, Trump has expanded executive authority in his second term, drawing criticism for undermining congressional checks.
The Constitution barred him from running again after he incited a riot on the capitol. Yet here we are.
Forgive me if my faith in the Constitution is waning a bit.
The Republican Third Term Project is pushing this hard. They're at CPAC drumming up support. I think the language is only specific to Trump though, so no other past president would be able to run again. It's something like a president that has not served 2 consecutive terms.
Also, Trump doesn't care about the constitution and neither do just about every GOP in office. They may say publicly that he can't do it or whatever, but if it comes down to it, they would vote for it.
I have to say, it would be extremely funny if they changed the constitution and then Trump lost to Obama
No its so much more fucked than that. It's literally god emperor language.
https://www.newsweek.com/trump-third-term-constitutional-amendment-andy-ogles-2025020
The wording of Ogles' amendment proposal suggests that previous consecutive two-term presidents, such as Barack Obama or George W. Bush, would not be allowed to run for a third term.
The Dems should call his bluff and propose a constitutional amendment allowing three terms, perhaps under the condition that sitting presidents must win an open primary to be eligible for a second or third nomination.
FDR had three terms, plus a few months of a fourth term.
IMHO, the bigger issue is not having three terms, but the fact that sitting presidents can get the nomination without winning a primary. This practice removes an important opportunity to replace them.
Yeah well, the Constitution says a lot of things. However, it’s fairly clear a large segment of the American population doesn’t care what the Constitution says as long as it’s their team in power.
Exactly, they’re going to say the courts are just against him, or something, and then kick off.
And I would say:
Yes, the courts are against him on that because it’s fucking clear that our founders never wanted a king or authoritarian in charge and two terms is more than enough and already set.
Obama - Return of the Jedi
Criminals aren't allowed to run for president either. Here we are.
Of course criminals are allowed to run for president
wrong, it's only individual states that prohibit felons from voting or running for office.
According to the Supreme Court of the United States of America, Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee are both eligible for the office of the United States of America (if they were still alive at least).
To be fair he wasn't supposed to run for a second term as a convicted felon, but he managed that.
I'd like to say I'd be surprised if he could win another election as his popularity plummets, but the US voters have proven themselves to be stupid and/or lazy.
Being a convicted felon does not disqualify you from running for president, or from being elected to the office.
Fomenting insurrection does, but that got waved away "because reasons".
I wouldn’t be surprised. He promised an end of elections and voting. This is what his voters wanted.
That, and we have that stupid Electoral College. Oh, and lots and lots of fuckery from the Republican apparatchiks when it comes to running our elections.
He wasn't technically a convicted felon until sentencing, and IANAL, I think that falls under shit no one thought would ever happen.
Being an insurrectionist is a guilty until proven innocent thing as far as the constitution goes iirc. At least in regards to holding office.
I hate to ‘akshualllyyy’, but actually there’s nothing in US law or the constitution that precludes a convicted felon from running for or holding office.
There was a lot of legal talk leading up to the last election about that, along with plenty of surprise that was the case. It turns out it was another of those gentlemen’s agreements that was never codified because up until very recently, most people just assumed voters were smart enough not to elect someone like that, so codifying it wasn’t worth anyone’s time.
If we ever wrest control back from these ghouls, there are a shit-ton of things that need codifying.
e: a few words
If we ever wrest control back from these ghouls, there are a shit-ton of things that need codifying.
While this is absolutely true, it is not a good idea to make felony conviction a disqualification from holding office. Look at who's controlling DoJ right now, and there are plenty of states that will follow that lead. Making it so that a felony conviction disqualifies a person from holding office is just a roadmap for corruption to follow in order to maintain control.
Barred? By whom? Really, when will the states wake up and figure out there is no "adult" in the wings that will enforce norms.
The constitution is like the laws of physics; god will enforce it. If not god then perhaps ligma.
American exceptionalism is so stupid strong that I can actually see people thinking that.
Of course he'll run and of course he'll win and og course he'll just ignore the laws about it and of course nobody is going to stop him
Any time Trump jokes, it's the camel's nose under the tent.
Yeah, I don’t think he’s capable of an actual joke. I’m a big fan of this analysis…. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/writer-perfectly-breaks-down-why-brits-dont-like-donald-trump-388956/
It says elected. He has no intention of having another election.
Who's gonna stop him from running for or taking office for a third time? The Democrats? Are they gonna write a strongly worded letter? The Supreme Court? Do they have anyone with guns who will listen to them?
He'll be SLaMmeD in that strongly worded letter, they'll pat themselves on the back for a job well done, then run another candidate without a primary.
It is unlikely that the constitution will be amended. Democrats still (and will always) hold roughly 50% of seats in the Congress. So any proposal to amendment will not pass. However, there is a possibility of coup if Trump does not want to step down.
They just illegally fired, and replaced the joint chiefs. What makes you think they aren't going to arrest and replace all the democratic representatives and senators?
We're already past The Reichstag Fire
He will be trying to make The Fediverse illegal in the US within the next 6 months.
My guy, 2 years from now, there will be a redder wave from a kangaroo election, and they will amend the Constitution and end whatever is left of democracy. CISA is gutted, and will be replaced with lackeys that will confirm the fake election. We're cooked.
You mean another coup? Another in addition to the first coup, in which several people were killed and sh*t smeared on the walls of the capitol, when people had to hide for their lives and in which some of the protectors were complicit?
The one after which the ringleader went completely unpunished and then got back into power and released the people who'd actually done it on his behalf?
I know this is crazytown now, but we don't want to forget about that first coup.
There are still federal and state judges blocking many of Trump's executive decisions, and half of population willing to resist. The checks and balance is still working as intended even if politicians and the other half of people itself had been compromised. I still wouldn't call democracy itself completely dead yet.
On November 2028, he'll be older than Joe Biden is now.
But yeah, I can see him enter the 2028 GOP primaries, win the nomination, maybe beat Harris again, and serve as acting President while SCOTUS allows it.
He’s gonna run anyways. Mark my words. He can’t leave office or he’s fucked. The constitution is nothing more than toilet paper at this point, if no one is going to stand up for it.
Ideally, in the near future he will undergo some sort of transformation that would render a third term a physical impossibility rather than a legal one.
I call that "God's Ultimate Recall Vote"
Decent chance he'll croak before the end of his term. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part.
Then we get Captain Shortpants
Wait until he learns about FDR and his third and fourth terms. That's what he'll use as his reasoning.
The US is right in a coup. Who knows what will be legal or illegal after that.
There is absolutely nothing barring Trump from running for a third term.
The Supreme Court literally just hand-waved away another Constitutional amendment that should have barred Trump from running for a 2nd term, let alone a third. And they basically did it on the legal precedent of "because fuck you, that's why." All 3 branches of government have completely ignored the blatant constitutional violations he's committed since taking office. There's absolutely nothing stopping the Supreme Court from just striking down another constitutional amendment because hey why not and letting the guy run as often as he wants.
And remember, we even had one state legislator asking why we even have elections instead of just handing the votes to Trump......
There was a little kernel of sanity behind that ruling, though. Absent a clear conviction for a crime that smells like insurrection, who gets to decide what insurrection means? I remember that there was a lot of talk of the "insurrection at the border" at the same time the ruling was being considered, as well as describing migrants as "military-age men". I am positive that if the SC let Colorado take Trump off the ballot, Texas would have taken Biden off based on some bullshit theory that he was instigating a foreign invasion of migrants.
The language behind a third Presidential term is much, much clearer. The plain text of the amendment bars it, and if Trump decides to run again, several states will declare him ineligible on the spot. That will go to the SC, too. We'll see what happens then.
There was a little kernel of sanity behind that ruling, though. Absent a clear conviction for a crime that smells like insurrection,
The House of Representatives, by a majority vote, found that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and impeached him for this after January 6th. The Senate failed to vote to remove him from office, but this does not change the fact that he was found to have engaged in insurrection by the House of Representatives.
who gets to decide what insurrection means?
The House of Representatives already did.
Texas would have taken Biden off based on some bullshit theory that he was instigating a foreign invasion of migrants.
And when either the House of Representatives votes to impeach him for it, then he can be removed from the ballot as well. They tried, and failed. Repeatedly.
And if the courts just randomly decide that Biden's actions constituted an insurrection, we have much bigger problems to deal with, as the courts at that point can just declare anything they want as an insurrection, including political dissent.
The language behind a third Presidential term is much, much clearer. The plain text of the amendment bars it
Going based on the "kernel of sanity" thing, the argument is that it was meant to bar more than two consecutive terms, and was not meant to bar non-consecutive terms. The argument is that those who wrote the amendment knew the importance of being specific, and if they wanted to bar non-consecutive terms, they'd have specifically said as much.
I'm a Brit so what do I know? But I can see him taking a leaf out of Putin's playbook and running as VP to a family member running for President, possibly Eric. Then he'll still be in control.
the constitution also directly bars that, but, it bars a lot of what Trump's already done in the last month
The bad news is that we've (the sane, the empathetic, the introspective, the curious) already lost what was America. Trump's reelection is more like the rimshot following the actual punchline. So that battle is lost. It's painful but we can't dwell on it like a dog licking a hot spot. The good news is a new battle is brewing. I have no doubt that the current state of the government is unsustainable, wether by design or through incompetence. It's a near certainty that major calamity is on the horizon. Illness, war, terrorism, climate, social upheaval, something catastrophic will happen. It is going to happen and it will demand leadership and governance to overcome, and the fourth reich will not be capable of rising to the occasion. They will botch it, and the nation will be shattered. Historic levels of national reorganization will need to occur. Implied rules will need to be made explicit. This is where the next fight really is. They got to play offense for as long as democrats were a boogie man. Well, they hold all the cards now, so they will be soley to blame for the trainwreck. They will try to weasel out of it, but we can't let them. We need to keep them cornered, and we need to be ready to snatch back the tiller when the rough seas knock that fat bastard down onto the fucking deck. Then we need to bust out the plank and throw a going away party for his whole rogues gallery. Then we need to find shore again and fix our damaged ship.
The 22nd amendment, the one that bars him from running for a third presidential term, also bars him from running as a future VP. Legally he could be speaker of the house, or another high ranking unelected official, but he's not inclined to follow laws anyway. Before Musk I would have said he wouldn't want to be 2nd-in-power, so I would have thought having one of his sons hold a higher office than him wouldn't happen. Everything is upside down now, so who knows what will happen
There's an interesting, although ultimately flawed, argument that the 22nd says that a person who's ineligible to hold the office of president can't be VP, and that a person can only be elected to two full terms.
It's an interesting argument that he's not ineligible to hold office, so he could be VP despite not being able to be elected.It's ultimately flawed because the intent of the amendment was clear, and if we're working around it to that extent we're really sort of done with the law anyway.
He's not in control. He plays golf, tweets angrily, eats hamberders, watches tv, and yells at crowds and probably clouds.
The billionaires behind him are in charge.
https://www.vcinfodocs.com/venture-capital-and-trump
https://www.vcinfodocs.com/venture-capital-extremism
https://www.vcinfodocs.com/day-one-of-venture-capital-takeover
It says, elected more than twice. Who says there's going to be an election?
That's what I was thinking. Does anyone remember leading up to him taking over in '17 they were talking about how Obama was going to institute martial law and just stay in the Whitehouse without being elected?
They haven't tried that one yet but they sure floated that someone else was going to do it.
He did promise that it will be the last election if he wins this one
Why do news stations make these stupid short clips with music and pictures? Just show the clip
Legal experts say the Constitution is clear that he cannot run, though some supporters, including Rep. Andy Ogles and Steve Bannon, are pushing for a constitutional amendment or a 2028 campaign.
It's a non-starter.
You need at minimum three-quarters of states for an amendment, and that's if you take the constitutional convention route. Even if you got every Republican-majority state onboard, which I very much doubt -- I think that there are a very considerable number of Republican politicians who are glad that Trump has managed to pull in a majority and are happy to maybe use some of his tactics but are also more than happy to see him ride off into the sunset and let them run things -- that's still not going to be enough.
Also, I don't know if ratification is just the upper house (almost all states have a bicameral legislature) or both or if it varies by state, but if it's both, that's an even higher bar.
kagis
Sounds like it's both.
https://www.ncsl.org/about-state-legislatures/amending-the-us-constitution
Step 3. Ratification by three-fourths of the states. Ratification of the amendment language adopted by Congress is an up-or-down vote in each legislative chamber. A state legislature cannot change the language. If it does, its ratification is invalid. A governor’s signature on the ratification bill or resolution is not necessary.
So you have to get a majority of legislators in both legislative houses in a three-quarters supermajority of states. That's a pretty high bar.
How many other things is he not allowed to do, but is doing anyway with permission (either tacit or direct) from congress and the courts? You think this will stop him?
Words on a piece of paper only have power if people uphold them. No one's upholding them.
What's stopping him making an executive order claiming he can do it, use that as an excuse to run a clearly illegal campaign, use his control of the FEC to win and dare anyone to do smth about it?
Executive orders can't direclty contradict existing laws. They are utilized in "legal gray areas". If it were that simple, Trump would simply pass an executive order that it's legal for him to assassinate all members of any opposing political party and wipe every non-republican off the face of the earth, literally.
All well and good, but he now has the military under his thumb and firmly planted up his ass. There’s no one left that has the authority to tell him he can’t.
He really is sort of pathetic.
It's weird and oddly discouraging. It seems like the individual most responsible for the oncoming collapse of the United States should be some sort of supervillain, but he's really just a desperately insecure and over-compensating wad of hair, bronzer and congealed fat with the emotional maturity of a spoiled three-year-old.
And meanwhile, his wannabe Rasputin sidekick is a desperately insecure and over-compensating middle-aged chuunibyou who's still trying, and pathetically failing, to be the edgiest 13-year-old, and to not think about the fact that everyone who knows him thinks he's an asshole.
As if it's not already bad enough to watch as the US is systematically destroyed, we have to watch as it's systematically destroyed by people who are so pathetic and creepy.
For me as an outsider he represents the worst of america- fake, plastic, bloated ego, stupid but unaware, white man complex... He's a poisonous human with no substance. Maybe it would be fitting if he were the last president.
I'd be shocked if he's actually in good enough physical health to run again.
Sadly, I think Vance and his ilk might actually be a graver threat and Trump leaving the picture affords them an opportunity to rise up. The corporate cyberpunk dystopias they're dreaming of are terrifying.
Statistically he would have died of natural causes or heart disease or something by then, right? He’s old as fuck and eats like shit.
They might stir up a war for a third term.
operative krasnov wants a war so he can start up his national police and declare martial law. and he'll do it all just for the bump in the fucking polls for being a 'war president'.
"Might?" He's only been saber rattling with allies since day one.
He'll just run again and it'll be up to congress to stop him, which I don't know if they will.
Actions are illegal only if their prohibition is enforced.
I'm expanding my second term indefinitely! I wasn't elected to a third term, my second term just won't end--so therefore it's all constitutional!
MMW.
They'll look for any loophole in the wording they can. Trump cannot be legally elected for a third term but nothing explicitly says he can't serve for more than two terms.
this last election nearly killed him both in the tired old man running around the world way and also the long range ballistic way. i would love to see him try to do another campaign in 4 years when he is already barely able to speak complete sentences right now
He won't need to run. He'll just cancel the Presidential election. By then he'll be Emperor anyway.
As if ‘barred’ or ‘legal’ or any words of the sort still matter.