Since the end of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s four-term presidential tenure in 1945, it has not only been tradition to only do two terms, but also legally upheld that only two terms can be held by the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution. However, President Trump and many of his supporters have been floating the idea that he could get a third Presidential term through other methods. While many thought these were just jokes by the President and allies, Trump clarified to NBC News that he is not joking about a potential third term, and that there are methods for him being able to get a third term. While it is unlikely that he will be able to get a third term due to the Constitution, it is still important to know what these methods he claims could allow him a third term are.
The most straightforward method of getting a third term would be to amend the Constitution itself, which Republicans are currently attempting. Republican Representative from Tennessee Andy Ogles introduced a joint resolution to amend the Constitution, which would allow any President to serve a third term if their previous two terms were non-consecutive.The only President alive who would be eligible to run for a third term would be Trump, because his two terms have been non-consecutive. While it is the most straightforward method, it is also likely the most difficult method, with a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority vote in Congress or a two-thirds majority of states to call for a constitutional convention. Currently, Republicans, assuming Trump were somehow able to convince all of them to support the amendment, don’t have enough control to pass the amendment, with there being 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats in the Senate, 218 Republicans to 215 Democrats in the House, and Republicans don’t control two thirds of state governments, meaning that they would somehow need to convince Democrats to vote for the amendment as well, which is very unlikely.
Trump has also been floating another method, that he would run for vice President with Vance as the presidential candidate. Then if they won, Vance would step down, allowing Trump to ascend to his third term as President. Seeing as this method is directly against the law, it would surely face legal challenges and likely become a Supreme Court case, where we can’t really predict their decision. The legal argument most likely to be used is from the 12th Amendment, which says, “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of the President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.” Given that Trump would be constitutionally ineligible unless an amendment were passed, it is likely he would also be ineligible for the vice presidency, making this method also very hard for him to achieve.
While Trump says he isn’t joking about a third term, his methods for doing so are very unlikely to work. A constitutional method would be nearly impossible, and running for Vice President would face many legal challenges. Whether or not you support a third term of Trump, it isn’t likely to happen through these methods.
