Third term: US constitutional amendment Trump ‘must’ alter to run again in 2028

The U.S. president-elect, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, while addressing the House GOP conference at Capitol Hill, joked about running for a third term.

Tribune Online reports that the former President secured his return to the White House after a triumphant victory over Democrats’ candidate and current Vice President Kamala Harris, securing 312 electoral votes while also winning popular votes.

Ahead of his meeting with President Joe Biden on Wednesday, Trump met members of his Republican Party, quipping about continuing in the White House after 2028.

The 78-year-old jokes, “I suspect I won’t be running again unless you say he’s so good we’ve got to figure something else out.”

U.S. President who served more than two terms

The idea of presidents eyeing a third term in office in the United States of America is not new. In fact, the US did have a President who served more than two terms.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd U.S. President was first elected in 1932 and spent eight years in office — two full terms. In 1940, Roosevelt contested again in the Presidential election and won.

Roosevelt’s emergence in 1940 was inspired by his leadership in response to the Great Depression. He led the country through four years of the Second World War and was re-elected again in 1944. Roosevelt served as president until his death in April 1945.

ALSO READ: US lawmaker proposes constitutional amendment for Trump’s third term

U.S. President: Amendment that stops third term

Two years after the demise of Franklin D. Roosevelt — during Harry S. Truman’s presidency — the House of Representatives proposed Joint Resolution 27, calling for a set limit of two terms for future presidents, each containing four years.

After some Senate revisions and subsequent referral to the states for ratification which both lasted four years, the proposed amendment was ratified on February 27, 1951 — and adopted as the Twenty-second Amendment.

“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.”

Since this amendment, no U.S. President has served more than two terms.

What Trump ‘Must’ Do Ahead of 2028 US Elections

Following Donald Trump’s quips on a possible attempt to run again in 2028 — for the third term, the joke has been topical on whether the 47th U.S. President can successfully alter the 22nd Amendment.

Of course, Trump had joked about continuing in the White House indefinitely in the past.

However, for Trump to run again and constitutionally in 2028, he must have pushed for the amendment of the current limit.

To achieve this, such a proposal must be 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.”

Just a quick reminder, the 22nd Amendment spent four years through both the Senate and states before final ratification.

While this article was originally published on November 14, 2024, Tribune Online reports last week (Friday, 24th January 2025) that a Republican lawmaker, Andy Ogles, has introduced a controversial bill seeking to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Donald Trump to run for a third term in office.

With the Republican Party in control of the two national legislative chambers in the United States, the controversial bill may become topical in the next weeks, with many anxious about whether the bill will sail through the Senate, House, and state legislatures by securing the required approval for a final amendment as dictated by the law.

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