Trump and #3
By Mike Bibb

"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." — Amendment XXII, U.S. Constitution, Ratified Feb. 27, 1951.
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The Constitution seems pretty clear, a person cannot serve more than eight years as President, or more than one elected term if a previous President did not complete at least two years of a term.

In other words, if a President only serves 23 months or less of a term, then the VP (now President) can run for one additional term. If a prior President completes 24-47 months of a term, the VP can run for two additional terms.

So, it's possible for a President to serve from six to ten years total, depending upon the years of service of the previous President — under two years or over two years of a term. If it's under two years, a VP can only run one more time. Over two years, a VP can run two more times.

For example, the 35th President, John F. Kennedy, was in office from Jan. 20,1961 until his assassination on Nov. 22,1963 (34 months). Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson ascended to the Presidency (for the remaining 14 months of Kennedy's term) and ran for reelection and won in 1964. He could have run again in 1968 but refused, due to his declining popularity.

If Johnson had run and won again in 1968, his Presidency could have lasted 9 years and 2 months.

The 22nd Amendment was enacted by Congress and passed by the required number of states as a reaction to the 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt's four reelections in a row. Roosevelt died in office a few months after the beginning of his fourth term on April 12,1945. He was 63.

Vice President Harry S. Truman then became the 33rd President. Upon completing Roosevelt's fourth term he ran, and won in November,1948. He served his first (and only) elected term from Jan. 20, 1949 - Jan. 20,1953.

Truman could have sought a third term in 1952 but decided not to. The 22nd Amendment would not go into effect until the last President retired (Truman), was defeated, didn't seek reelection or died after the 1951 ratification.

In effect, Truman's Presidency lasted 7 years and 9 months. After that, the 22nd Amendment would limit future Presidents to two terms.

Previous Presidents, since Washington, voluntarily served a maximum of two four-year terms. For whatever reasons, Franklin Roosevelt thought he was needed for four terms.

On Sunday, March 30, President Donald Trump was asked by NBC News if he was going to run for a third term, in spite of restrictions placed by the 22nd Amendment.

He said he thought about it replying "I'm not joking. There are methods in which you could do it" he told NBC.

He didn't elaborate upon what those methods were other than to acknowledge he could run as J.D. Vance's Vice President and then step up to the job of President if Vance was to resign.

That's pure speculation. Normally, once a candidate wins the Presidency, they're very reluctant to give it up because someone else may also want to occupy the White House.

Actually, I'm not certain its ever been done.

Egos have a very noticeable influence upon politicians' lives — Democrats and Republicans. To go to all the trouble and expense of campaigning and winning the nation's top elective position only to hand it over to the #2 guy seems a bit strange and certainly unusual.

Undoubtedly, a lot of upset financial donors would balk at the idea.

However, the 22nd Amendment says nothing about a President winning a first term, then losing a second attempt, and then on the third try winning a second term. These were not two consecutive terms in office.

So, is it permissible for Trump to seek a third term because he hasn't had two back-to-back terms in office?

Not sure how he gets past the "No person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice" declaration. To my thinking, "twice" means "twice." No specific order is mentioned. Whether they are two continuous terms, or separated by four, eight or twelve years, two is still two.

Then, it's probably guaranteed the topic would be tied up in the courts way before Trump's name was printed on the ballot.

Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) was the 22nd and 24th President serving from 1885-1889 and from 1893-1897. He and Trump have been the only two Presidents to serve non-consecutive terms.

Coincidentally, Trump will be 82 at the end of his second term. Similar to Joe Biden when he finished his first term. Obviously, there is no comparison between the two's brain power and energy. Joe could hardly find his way off the stage, while Trump can talk for hours, hop on his plane and do it again at another speaking engagement a few hours later.

And repeat the process the next morning — day after day.

Joe, on the other hand, seemed to have a tough time getting up by 10:00 A.M. and staying in the office until midafternoon. That is, when he wasn't on vacation or at the beach.

Actually, Joe's cognitive disabilities were primarily responsible for the Democrat National Committe removing him from running for reelection in 2024. He was simply experiencing increasing difficulties putting sentences together or even signing his name to official government documents.

Now, we have a President who's trying to find a way to run for a third term because he likes working "the toughest job in the country."

What a contrast in only a couple of months.