Can Donald Trump serve a third term as US president?

NBC host Kristen Walker recently quizzed Donald Trump on whether he was serious about seeking a third term as US president. Trump has made comments like this in the past, occasionally claiming he’s just joking about it.

Well, now he’s underlined “I’m not joking” about a third term and said “there are methods which you could do it”… As any civics student will know, the 22nd amendment of the US Constitution says “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice”. Overriding that would require a constitutional amendment, which would require a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate and, obviously, Democrats aren’t going to vote for more Trump.

That said, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected for third and fourth terms, successfully arguing to politicians and the American people that only he had the experience and skills to steer the United States through World War II. So, is there a legal route for Trump to seek a third term?

The Veep Theorem

Here’s the theorized plan. In 2028, Trump steps down as president and endorses his vice president, JD Vance, as his successor (or anyone suitably pliant and loyal). Vance then nominates Trump as his vice president, and the two run on a Vance/Trump ticket. The moment Vance is sworn in as president he resigns, making Trump president again by succession.

Technically, as the constitution bans presidents from being “elected” to the role twice, getting it via succession would seem to allow a way around this. But would it really work?

Associated Press spoke to Notre Dame election law professor Derek Muller, who threw a bucket of cold water on the idea, saying: “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States” and that there’s no “one weird trick’ to getting around presidential term limits.”

Trump may also be relying on world events to create a justification for a third term. We’re in the early stages of his second and Trump’s decisions have already ramped up global instability, so in the horrific event of World War III breaking out, Trump could follow FDR’s playbook and argue that he needs to remain president to win a war.

But while Trump may have a chance of overriding judges, smashing away the constitution, and cementing control of the Republican Party, he can’t defeat Father Time. Trump is currently 78 years old, so if he were running for a third term would be 82 as he campaigns. If he wins, he’d round out that term in 2032 at the age of 86.

Everyone who watched Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate in 2024 will be aware of the gigantic hazards of running an octogenarian candidate. Admittedly, there are plenty of people in their 80s who remain cogniscent, lucid, and quick-thinking, but does anyone really think that a Donald Trump pushing 90 is going to have all his faculties?

All that said, despite his unhealthy lifestyle, Trump appears in good shape, so, who knows? With control of the Supreme Court, Democrats in disarray, and a stunned and pliable electorate Trump can do whatever he wants and there’s nobody to stop him. So, whether it’s strictly legal or not, we wouldn’t count out many more years of Trump to come.