Episode 101
IN THE MAKING: Can Donald Trump Run for President in 2028?
The short answer is no (sorry MAGA), at least not without a change to the constitution. So in this episode of America: A History in the Making, I explore the main constitutional barriers to a Trump third term, and why changing this would be almost impossible in just three years.
Let us know in the comments what you think:
Do you want Trump to run again in 2028?
Should he be allowed?
Who do you think the Republican nominee contenders are?
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Highlights from this episode:
- In this episode, we delve into the implications of Donald Trump's potential third presidential run in 2028 and the constitutional barriers that exist.
- We clarify that the 22nd Amendment restricts any individual from being elected for more than two terms as president, creating significant legal challenges.
- Our discussion includes Trump's recent comments suggesting JD Vance as a likely Republican nominee, highlighting the shifting dynamics within the MAGA movement.
- We explore the argument that Trump could run for vice president, but we detail why this is constitutionally problematic and unlikely to succeed.
- The episode emphasizes that there is no legal route for Trump to regain the presidency, addressing concerns among both supporters and critics alike.
- We conclude that unless significant legal changes occur, Donald Trump will not be president after 2028, which is a critical point for understanding future elections.
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Additional Resources:
12th Amendment - Election of President and Vice President | Constitution Center
Can Donald Trump run for a third term? Constitution sets two-term limit despite 'Trump 2028' merch
Trump touches on the 22nd Amendment and that is bad news for US history
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And if you like this episode, you might also love:
What Was the Constitutional Convention?
Why Does the President Only Serve Two Terms?
Is the President Above the Law?
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Transcript
With reaction and insights to the biggest stories and breaking news from the USA and a little bit of history thrown in.
Speaker A:This is America A history in the making.
Speaker A:It's Liam here for another edition of America A History in the Making.
Speaker A:And I mean, there's always stuff going on, isn't there?
Speaker A:There's always news to talk about, especially when we're in a Trump administration.
Speaker A: ing at what's gonna happen in: Speaker A: ly won't run for President in: Speaker A:What's going on, what Trump is saying and looking at the Constitution and, you know, historical precedents, what is actually most likely to happen over the next three years?
Speaker A:Because I think it's really important at this point so early on in his second term to sort of lay down the groundwork, set the context and really get us all on the same page and manage our expectations.
Speaker A:You know, can we really realistically worry about Trump getting a third term?
Speaker A:So just yesterday, Donald Trump gave an interview to the American News.
Speaker A: be the Republican nominee in: Speaker A:He didn't outright say that, but according to this one article on MSN, when he was asked on Tuesday whether J.D.
Speaker A:vance was the likely heir to the MAGA movement, he told reporters, quote, well, I think most likely, in all fairness, he's the vice President.
Speaker A:It's too early obviously to talk about it, but certainly he's doing a great job calling him very capable and most likely to secure the nomination.
Speaker A:So that's a massive pivot actually, from what we've heard from Trump up until this point, where before he wouldn't even acknowledge that there was any other possible alternative.
Speaker A:But that doesn't really solve the problem of what if Trump wants to be president again?
Speaker A:Because we've all talked about this, right?
Speaker A:There's constitutional barriers now.
Speaker A:So the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution, which was brought in after FDR, who you may know served, actually won four elections.
Speaker A:He served 12 years and died very soon after his his re election for a fourth term.
Speaker A:So then the 22nd Amendment was brought in to limit, legally limit the presidency to two terms.
Speaker A:Up until that point, it was a precedence.
Speaker A:There was nothing stopping someone from running more than two terms.
Speaker A:But George Washington set that standard, and every president since has followed.
Speaker A:It was only because of World War II that FDR then decided, in a time of war, the change would have triggered more instability.
Speaker A:So that all happened.
Speaker A:22nd Amendment was brought in.
Speaker A:Now, that hasn't stopped the MAGA crowd from thinking about how Trump could still run.
Speaker A:And the ideas for this range from everything as wild as, well, he could just change the Constitution, which is, let's not kid ourselves.
Speaker A:That's a huge deal that almost certainly won't be able to happen in three years because of the legal process that that needs to go through, Right?
Speaker A:There's just far too many opportunities for that to be stopped.
Speaker A:So let's just park that, because that's almost certainly not going to happen.
Speaker A:Now, one of the other trains of thought from people is that, okay, well, if he wants to run for a third term, and this is where his words yesterday to the press may actually now have some relevance, right?
Speaker A:So if he wants to become president, why not run on the ticket as a vice president on this sort of gentleman's agreement, I guess, that let's say J.D.
Speaker A:vance was the nominee, that when they won the election, he would step down and Trump could then assume the presidency for a third term through the back door, as it were.
Speaker A:Now, the 22nd Amendment, I'm just to clarify this.
Speaker A:The 22nd Amendment restricts the number of terms that a president can legally be elected to be president.
Speaker A:So if you assume the office at least halfway through a presidential term, you are allowed to run for two more full terms.
Speaker A:So essentially, you could serve up to 10 years as president according to the 22nd Amendment.
Speaker A:Now, Trump supporters are arguing that because of the wording of the 22nd Amendment, that that means that Donald Trump could become vice president and then assume the office because then he hasn't been elected as president.
Speaker A:Now, this is where it gets complicated, right?
Speaker A:Because there are no legal limitations on the number of terms that anyone can serve as vice president.
Speaker A:So that kind of, to the MAGA crowd, it's like, okay, well, Trump could just do that every four years, right?
Speaker A:And then constantly be president, president, president, but that can't happen, right?
Speaker A:So the 12th Amendment of the Constitution.
Speaker A:Now, this goes into some detail around how the electors shall choose the president and the vice president.
Speaker A:But the last sentence of this amendment is the most important when we're talking about Donald Trump's potential continuation of his presidency.
Speaker A:Okay, so although there is no legal limit on the number of terms an individual can serve as Vice President, the last line of the 12th Amendment reads, no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice President of the United States.
Speaker A:Now that could not be any clearer.
Speaker A:So essentially what that is saying is because Donald Trump is ineligible to be president for a third term, to be elected president for a third term, the Constitution is very clear about the fact that he is now no longer eligible to even be Vice President.
Speaker A:This was a very long winded way and I think it was very important to set this historical context because when we hear the things that Trump is saying in the news about, oh, probably this, probably that, actually when you look at the Constitution, unless he somehow in the next three years is able to change the Constitution and that would require huge amounts of buy in that he just simply wouldn't have across Congress and the Senate and it would require a Constitutional Convention and it would just be, it's unthinkable that there's any scenario over the next three years where that could happen because he would have to change either the 12th and, or the 22nd amendment or repeal them both.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:So let's assume that doesn't happen.
Speaker A: to become president again in: Speaker A:So I think as of right now, we have to assume that J.D.
Speaker A:vance is potentially the front runner.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:There's going to be other people, DeSantis may go for another run and who knows which other Republicans might decide to throw their name into their into the ring.
Speaker A:But I think the most likely scenario as of right now is that Donald Trump will probably be the kind of the figurehead of MAGA there in spirit, as the kind of honorary leader.
Speaker A:Of course he will likely have a huge amount of influence and he will likely have the ear of the President to a degree that no other former president has probably had.
Speaker A:But he cannot in any legal constitutional way become president again.
Speaker A:So I'm sorry to break that news to any Trump supporters.
Speaker A:I'm sure that will be a relief to any Trump critics.
Speaker A:If in three years time we're having a conversation about Trump's re election, then I think it's safe to say something has gone very significantly off the rails in the US So I thought it was really important today to clarify that because there's so much talk swirling around, will he run?
Speaker A:Won't he run?
Speaker A:Can he run?
Speaker A:The answer, in short, is no, he cannot run for president.
Speaker A:And no, he cannot get through the back door through some sort of loophole.
Speaker A:It doesn't exist.
Speaker A: p will not be president after: Speaker A:So that's your public service announcement from me.
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