# Trump and the 22nd amendment **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 3, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568 "2024-01-03T22:38:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/1 "2024-01-03T22:38:26Z")
So, if Trump really was, in fact, elected to be president in 2020, then he has already been elected twice. Since the 22nd amendment say this: “Text. Section 1. No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice…” Isn’t he precluded thus from running a third time in 2024? Maybe at this point the liberal strategy should be to say “OK, fine, you won in 2020-- you were elected in 2020. That means you can’t run for a 3rd term in 2024!” ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/2 "2024-01-03T22:48:02Z")
One of the challengers in Maine made this argument. It didn’t carry the day with the secretary of state. The flaw, as I see it, is Trump _didn’t_ win, and we can’t play “gotcha” because he _said_ he did. The winner is the person who was certified on 1/6/20. It wasn’t Trump. He’s eligible (under the 22nd amendment) to run again. Even, if by some miracle for him he could establish he should have won if not for cheating, fraud, and miscellaneous hijinks, he still wouldn’t be precluded. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/3 "2024-01-03T23:56:13Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The winner is the person who was certified on 1/6/20. It wasn’t Trump. Precisely. Trump’s argument is that he got enough votes to win so he should have won, if you discounted all the illegal votes and restored all the votes for him that were removed. But even though he might rhetorically say “he won”, what he clearly means is “he should have won”, not that he actually was declared the winner. There’s no legitimate “gotcha” here. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/4 "2024-01-04T00:03:59Z")
It’s a great insider joke, but since it’s already been made thousands of times it obviously has no more impact on Trump or his cult than any other joke. Or any reality, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/5 "2024-01-04T00:17:19Z")
Sooo, by Trump running again in '24, he by default admits Joe Biden won in 2020 and accepts that he lost, right? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/6 "2024-01-04T00:32:20Z")
Well, Trump said his first term didn’t count because Democrats were mean to him. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/7 "2024-01-04T00:43:37Z")
He did that a long time ago, on January 7, 2021. > **[Trump publicly acknowledges he won't serve a second term a day after inciting...](https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/01/07/politics/trump-biden-us-capitol-electoral-college-insurrection/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump conceded publicly for the first time Thursday that he will not serve a second term, stopping short of congratulating President-elect Joe Biden but acknowledging a transfer of power is now underway. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2024, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/8 "2024-01-04T00:46:41Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > He did that a long time ago, on January 7, 2021. Aw, and that was supposed to be my birthday present ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-the-22nd-amendment/995568/9 "2024-01-05T20:33:53Z")
Sound Constitutional reasoning.