What exactly would need to happen for Trump to run for a 3rd (turd) time ? In terms of changing laws or getting a

[OnDoutside]

Supreme Court opinion ?

[gab13by13]

1. Dictators don't follow any laws

only the unwashed peons follow laws.

[travelingthrulife]

2. Do not give this foolish idea any oxygen. Why even state it?

[OnDoutside]

6. Because I think (from what we've seen of their behaviour so far) that it is a greater than 50% chance they'll try it.

[GoodRaisin]

31. A near certainty he will try, if he is still alive. He has never intended to leave.

[OnDoutside]

33. Yep, it would be a big mistake to think he won't try.

[OnDoutside]

8. Bannon has already discussed it

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5202578-steve-bannon-chris-cuomo-donald-trump-third-term-ambitions/

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon leaned into President Trump’s aspirations for a third term, suggesting Trump will run and win in 2028 while denying his own presidential ambitions.

“I’m a firm believer that President Trump will run and win again in 2028, so I’ve already endorsed President Trump,” Bannon told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo. “A man like this comes along once every century, if we’re lucky. We’ve got him now.”

“He’s on fire, and I’m a huge supporter. Want to see him again in 2028,” he added in an appearance on “CUOMO.”

Trump has floated the idea of running for a third presidential term a number of times despite it being unconstitutional with the 22nd Amendment, which limits politicians to two presidential terms.

[Blue_Roses]

10. Exactly

n/t

[Maru Kitteh]

28. That's our version of "Don't look up!" Burying our heads is HOW WE GOT HERE.

Let’s try being prepared for the shit they pull, for once. It might even become a habit! That would be helpful.

[Beausoleil]

3. A constitutional amendment would be necessary

but who has stopped Trump yet? He is planning running again and the fix will be in.

[EdmondDantes_]

18. Biden in 2020, the courts have stopped a lot of what he wants

Republican dysfunction stopped any legislation other than the stupid tax cut in 2017. And the Democrats controlling Congress in 2018 stopped any other legislation. McCain stopped his attempt to kill the ACA.

[Ocelot II]

4. If he lives that long, and a Constitutional amendment changing the 22nd.

The 22nd amendment prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from being elected again.

[OnDoutside]

11. Or, if someone brought it before the SC to "test" the constitutionality, what are the odds that a Trump court would

just make stuff up that this is not what the amendment meant ?

[Ocelot II]

15. A constitutional amendment can't be unconstitutional, by definition.

There's no way to test a constitutional amendment for constitutionality (unless maybe the procedures for the amendment weren't followed), only for interpretation. The 22nd says: "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 the President more than once." There's not much room there for interpretation. In fact, if we were to accept Trump's claim that he actually won the 2020 election, he wasn't eligible to be elected in 2024.

[JCMach1]

17. The Constitution is always constitutional...

He cant assume the Presidency unless its Amended.

Full stop.

[Torchlight]

5. Technically, a constitutional amendment.

In practical term in the here and now though, I have much less faith that this constitutional mechanism would be the chosen tool by the current administration.

[defacto7]

7. I think legally it would be a huge challenge, a constitutional change.

Otherwise they'd have to find a way to ignore the constitution.

[unblock]

9. In practice, he can get away with it the same way he can be president after starting an insurrection

The clean way would be a constitutional amendment allowing him to be elected to a third term.

The Republican corrupt way would be to just run him anyway, and when some state objects to putting him on the ballot, the supremes could just say they don't have standing or otherwise don't have the right to make the determination that he's ineligible. Obviously corrupt, but that's basically how they prevented Colorado from removing him from the ballot in 2024.

Finally, a loophole is that the constitution bans him from being *elected* to a third term, but technically not from *serving* a third term. So a couple stooges could run for potus/vpotus, Donnie gets named speaker of the house, and immediately after being sworn in, the stooges resign, making Donnie president.

[OnDoutside]

13. Yes, that's the type of thing I am expecting. Which makes the midterms so so important.

[Blue_Roses]

12. If that's the case

then President Obama could run too. But, I don't see any of this happening. I just don't want to see Vance in there either.

[OnDoutside]

14. You might be onto something there !

[unblock]

19. Many rules apply to democrats that don't seem to apply to republicans....

[Blue_Roses]

21. I've unfortunately noticed...

n/t

[Tribetime]

16. I have a feeling he will not be physically able too.nt

[JCMach1]

20. The technofascists will have no need for a front man by 2028

It will be their boy Vance.

[Wednesdays]

22. They could prop up his dead carcass a la "Weekend At Bernie's" and they'd still vote for him.

No need for a warm body so long as they have an idol object to worship.

[ProudMNDemocrat]

23. 22nd Amendment, Section 1 reads...

No person shall be elected to the Office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the Office of the 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 the President more than once.

The ONLY exception was VP Gerald Ford, who assumed the Presidency after the resignation of Richard Nixon in August of 1974. Ford was eligible to run for a full term in 1976. Had he won, he would also be eligible to run in 1980.

Donald Trump is a LAME DUCK. He is NOT eligible to run again in 2028 regardless of what he says or tries to do in the interim. The 22nd Amendment is clear on that.

[valleyrogue]

24. It can't be done without another constitutional amendment to repeal it.

Prohibition repeal comes to mind.

Trump is going to be gone long before then. He is pushing 80 now.

[marble falls]

25. Regardless of who has an interest in this, looking at him, it'll be most likely the Grim Reaper.

[RobertDevereaux]

26. Under current law, I'd expect many blue states to not allow him on the ballot.

Write-ins would not sufficiently counter that.

[OnDoutside]

27. Great point

[krawhitham]

29. 38 states ratifying a constitutional amendment, but then Obama can run again too

[Eugene]

30. Authoritarian option #1: Ignore the constitution and cow the justice system into submission.

Rump and allies just launched an all-out attack on the rule of law.
That attack on law firms is not just a shakedown, it's about
shutting uncooperative litigators out of the federal courts.

Option #2: The constitution means what our judges say.
They are also promoting the argument that the constitution only
blocks a third term after two consecutive terms.
Therefore, Rump could run while Obama would be disqualified.
The law means what they get their hand-picked judges say.

EDIT:
I almost forgot Option #3: Go full authoritarian and cancel elections.
In cases of authoritarian breakthrough, believe the autocrat.
He means what he says. Trust Rump to make good on his
promise to the Christian nationalists, that 2024 would be
the last election they'd have to fight.

[OnDoutside]

35. And they could declare a war on the Houthis and declare himself a wartime president like Zelenskyy.

[Diraven]

32. I'm surprised he's not running already

Basically he could just run, regardless of what the law and the Constitution says. When he inevitably gets the Republican nomination they'll just say he's our candidate and then demand states put him on the ballot. When some blue states refuse the case would go before the Supreme Court, and the conservative majority there would definitely find some pretense to rule he gets to run, because otherwise a Democrat would almost certainly win and they can't allow that.

[OnDoutside]

34. Yes, this is the most obvious way....up is down and down is up.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

36. Tamping down the third term hype for Trump

Believe or not, this issue was discussed a while back when there were discussions about Bill Clinton running as vice-president on a Gore-Clinton ticket. The thought was that Gore would resign after the election and President Clinton could serve a third term. This concept was discussed and rejected.

The three ways that trump could run for a third term (i) a constitutional amendment, (ii) trump running as vice president and then have his running mate resign and (iii) trump becoming speaker of the house and then the POTUS and Vice President resigning.

A constitutional amendment is not likely. https://upload.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=3380306 It is unlikely that such an amendment could get through congress much less be ratified by the required number of states.

The third option has so many variables that it is also unlikely. trump would have to be appointed/elected as Speaker and then both the POTUS and the VP resign. This option does not have the 12th Amendment issue but has so many variables that it is unlikely

The 12th Amendment is clear that no one can run as VP if they are not eligible to run as POTUS. I agree with the legal analysis set forth below.

Link to tweet

https://electionlawblog.org/?p=149214

As I told the Associated Press:

Derek Muller, a professor of election law at Notre Dame, noted that the 12th Amendment, which was ratified in 1804, says “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

Muller said that indicates that if Trump is not eligible to run for president again because of the 22nd Amendment, he is not eligible to run for vice president, either.

“I don’t think there’s any ‘one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits,” Muller said.

In addition, pursuing a third term would require extraordinary acquiescence by federal and state officials, not to mention the courts and voters themselves.

He suggested that Trump is talking about a third term for political reasons to “show as much strength as possible.”

Now, there’s no question there is potential constitutional ambiguity here, as Professor Brian Kalt has discussed. But scholars like Professor Michael Dorf a quarter century ago were bolstering the idea of a Gore-Clinton ticket in 2000:

Thus, if Clinton were to be elected Vice President, and ascend to the Presidency based on, for example, Mr. Gore’s resignation, then nothing unconstitutional would have occurred. Clinton would have been elected to the Presidency only twice — though he would serve as President thrice. Under the Twenty-Second Amendment, that is perfectly permissible.

. . . But in seeking the Vice-Presidency — a job, in John Nance Garner’s unforgettable phrase, “not worth a bucket of warm spit” — Clinton would hardly be bidding for dictatorial powers.

Similar claims were made by Professor Brian Gray and elsewhere. But in my earlier scholarship, I found this interpretation weaker than the one advanced by Matthew Franck:

It follows from the 22nd Amendment that Bill Clinton, being “constitutionally ineligible” to be elected president, is ineligible to become president by another route. He is, in short, ineligible to be president, and therefore ineligible to become vice president under the 12th amendment.

I agree. But it’s worth noting that if–and I think it’s still a big if–such a gambit arose, there are tremendous complexities in its implementation. Not the least of which is the fact that after Trump v. Anderson, I believe the Court expressly left open the opportunity for states to review qualifications of presidential (and vice-presidential) candidates outside of the 14th Amendment and exclude candidates on that basis. Vice presidential nominations and ballot access deadlines for them occur in late summer, giving an exceedingly truncated window for review–and, frankly, one that may leave a major party without a vice presidential candidate on the ballot in several states with the approval of the United States Supreme Court. (Setting aside, of course, the will power of someone like J.D. Vance relinquishing the presidency.)

I really enjoy Professor Hasen's election law blog. This article made me smile.

Finally, I doubt that trump will live long enough for these options to be necessary.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

37. MaddowBlog-Despite the Constitution, Trump says he's 'not joking' about eyeing a third term

The 22nd Amendment says, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.” The incumbent president doesn't fully accept that.

If you're just catching up on news from the weekend, Trump said he's "not joking" about possibly trying to pursue a third term.

The Constitution says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Trump apparently doesn't accept that. www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2025-03-31T11:58:35.374Z

If you're just catching up on news from the weekend, Trump said he's "not joking" about possibly trying to pursue a third term.

The Constitution says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." Trump apparently doesn't accept that.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/constitution-trump-says-s-not-joking-eyeing-third-term-rcna198827

This strategy came to mind anew upon hearing the Republican talk about possibly pursuing a third term in the White House. NBC News reported:

President Donald Trump did not rule out the possibility of seeking a third term in the White House, which is prohibited by the Constitution under the 22nd Amendment, saying in an exclusive interview with NBC News that there were methods for doing so and clarifying that he was “not joking.” ... “A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said in a Sunday-morning phone call with NBC News, referring to his allies.

.....In fact, in his interview with NBC News, Trump was hardly subtle. “I’m not joking,” he said, adding that there are “methods” in which he could pursue such a goal.

NBC News asked about a possible scenario in which Vice President JD Vance would run for office and then pass the role to Trump. Trump responded that “that’s one” method. “But there are others, too,” Trump added. Asked to share another method, Trump simply responded “no.”

Hours after the NBC News report reached the public, the president chatted with reporters aboard Air Force One and dodged a series of questions on the topic, though he claimed that “people” have asked him to run for a third term — which he said would be a fourth term “in a way” because his 2020 race was “totally rigged.” (It was not rigged; he lost fair and square, and he’s been lying uncontrollably about this for more than four years.).....

I won’t pretend to know where this is headed or the degree to which the president is prepared to defy constitutional law. But Scott Cummings, a professor of legal ethics at the UCLA School of Law, made a comment on "The Rachel Maddow Show" on Friday that stood out for me.

Commenting on autocracies around the world that have consolidated power, Cummings noted that in none of these countries “do leaders do all the things that Trump is doing, take aim at all of these independent institutions, and then just walk away.” Rather, the professor added, authoritarians take these steps because they intend “to stay in power permanently.”

trump needs to stay in power and will try to stay in power anyway that he can

[LetMyPeopleVote]

38. I also doubt that trump will be around for a third term

Link to tweet

[OnDoutside]

39. Only the good die young, so that bstard will be around forever.

[Johonny]

40. I assume he would run, possibly win, his VP would eventually become president

and he would whisk away as a three-time winner.