ICYMI, recent statements from former President Trump about the possibility of serving a third term have lit the political sphere on fire yet again, this time about constitutional limitations and potential workarounds or loop holes.
In case you were too busy watching the NCAA Elite Eight games, here’s what we reported on earlier from his interview with NBC, where Trump addressed the idea, stating “there are methods which you could do it,” referring to a third term as POTUS.
“I’m not joking… a lot of people want me to do it,” Trump added. “But, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration.” When questioned about continuing in what he called “the toughest job in the country,” Trump responded, “Well, I like working.”
First let’s explain what EXACTLY the 22nd Amendment, says, which was ratified in 1951, where it establishes presidential term limits, Check out the following text:
“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 President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by 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.”
“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.”
Many Trump supporters speculate that the amendment’s wording leaves room for interpretation, suggesting it only restricts being “elected” to a third term—not assuming the presidency via succession.
A ha. Let’s see …
Under this loop hole-ish theory, Trump could run as vice president in 2028, and if the elected president resigned, he could reclaim the office.
As you can imagine, legal experts remain very skeptical. Derek Muller, a Notre Dame election law professor, pointed to the 12th Amendment, which states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States.” He dismissed the idea of circumventing term limits, stating, “I don’t think there’s any ‘one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits.”
Seems about right.
What’s more, Jeremy Paul, a constitutional law professor at Northeastern University, echoed this view, telling CBS News there were “no credible legal arguments” for a third term.
This is a serious debate. It challenges the very fabric of our constitution. As the arguments on both sides of the polarizing aisle continues, analysts and voters will weigh whether these so-called theories hold merit, or water and or if the Constitution’s term limits remain absolute–as they should.
