and even a fourth and a fifth ….
so could Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama.
There are no limits on how many terms a President can serve
Here are the relevant words from the 22nd Amendment, and note what I have bolded
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.
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.
There are also no term limits on service as Vice President — or any other position in the line of succession. For the Vice President, note the relevant text of the 12th Amendment:
But no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.
What are the constitutional requirements to be eligible to BE president? Let us turn to Article II:
No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.
Thus while Trump could not LEGALLY run directly for a third term (and thus should be denied ballot access as a Presidential candidate again), he could be the running mate of Vance or someone else.
What most folks don/’t know is that both the VP and the President are sworn in BEFORE what we see at the inauguration — this is done privately (in case the inauguration is running late) so that the office does NOT go vacant at 12 Noon on January 20. Once VP Trump is sworn in, either the President resigns or having refused to take the oath so there is a vacancy and then VP Trump could be sworn in as President (which is probably how Trump would want it done — he would want the show). Trump could then nominate the presidential candidate as VP under the 25th Amendment, Of course this entire scenario, in either fashion, requires the complicity of the that person — would Vance actually be willing to go along? Would Thiel and the others who promoted Vance let him? That is a separate question.
As far as the Speaker or President Pro Tempore of the Senate ascending to the Presidency through vacancy in the VP slot (or the Speaker refusing to resign from the House and ascend), that is specifically covered in Amendment XXV. Whether either of the people in those positions could return to them after serving as President, worth noting that we have had Presidents return to Congress — John Quincy Adams to the House and Andrew Johnson to the Senate. Whether Congressional leaders or a cabinet official, could return to their previous positions is a bit more complicated, but there are no bars to their doing so constitutionally.
I do not believe there is any other CONSTITUTIONAL way for Trump to serve a 3rd term,
Make of this what you will.
Peace.
