Donald Trump looks into ‘ways’ for third term as US President: Can it happen?
ByNayanika Sengupta
Mar 31, 2025 09:28 AM IST
Trump has said he is "not joking” about trying to serve a 3rd term, dropping a clear indication that he's considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier
Donald Trump has expressed his wish to serve as US President for more than two terms, as allowed under country's Constitution, multiple times, with him reiterating his desire on Sunday as well, adding that he is considering “ways” to make it possible.
US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn while returning to the White House in Washington on March 30(REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump walks across the South Lawn while returning to the White House in Washington on March 30(REUTERS)
Donald Trump said on Sunday in a phone interview with NBC News said that he is "not joking” about trying to serve a third term, dropping the clearest indication that he is considering ways to breach a constitutional barrier against continuing to lead the country after his second term ends at the beginning of 2029.
Also Read: By Trump's flawed logic, even Obama can seek a ‘third term’: Will 12th amendment stop it?
Donald Trump took oath as the 47th US President in January this year for his second term. He was also the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021, after which he was succeeded by Democrat Joe Biden.
“There are methods which you could do it,” Trump said in the telephone interview from Mar-a-Lago, his private club.
"I have had more people ask me to have a third term, which in a way is a fourth term because the other election, the 2020 election was totally rigged,” a news agency Associated Press report quoted Trump elaborating later to reporters on Air Force One from Florida to Washington.
“I don’t want to talk about a third term now because no matter how you look at it, we’ve got a long time to go,” Trump added.
Can a US president serve 3rd term by any way?
The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution says a president in the country can only serve two terms, four years each. “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,” the 22nd Amendment reads.
However, there are a few scenarios where a US president could potentially serve more than two terms:
– If a president serves less than two years of a predecessor’s term: If a vice president becomes president due to the death, resignation, or removal of a sitting president and serves less than two years of that term, they could run for two additional full terms. In this case, they could serve a total of 10 years (two years from the partial term plus two full terms of four years each).
Section 1 of 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution reads, “…But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the 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.”
Also Read: Trump says he's considering ways to serve a third term as president
– Repeal of the 22nd Amendment: If the 22nd Amendment were repealed by a constitutional amendment, it would allow presidents to run for and serve more than two terms. This, however, would require significant political support, including a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures.
Section 2 of the 22nd Amendment says, "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.
Hence, while it's currently not possible for a US President to serve a third term under the 22nd Amendment, these exceptions and changes could potentially alter that.
Meanwhile, Derek Muller, a professor of election law at Notre Dame, told the Associated Press that the 12th Amendment of the US Constitution, 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,” AP quoted Muller.
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