# Trump won't rule out 3rd term **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [March 31, 2025, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371 "2025-03-31T01:50:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/81 "2025-03-31T20:44:13Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > There’s no need for any “faith”; just recognition that nobody with the ability to do so will even try to stop him. So faith, then. Trump is all powerful. Everything he says becomes fact. The tides themselves obey his command. All shall love him and despair. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/82 "2025-03-31T20:52:09Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So faith, then. Trump is all powerful. Everything he says becomes fact. The tides themselves obey his command. All shall love him and despair. No, that’s you just twisting what I say so you can avoid addressing the main issue and insult me. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/83 "2025-03-31T20:54:55Z")
No insult intended. Just an observation that many people here have an inflated estimation of Trump’s power and capabilities. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/84 "2025-03-31T20:55:13Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > We’ll see if they shoot me down here, but the counterargument always seems to be that the drafters of the 22nd Amendment couldn’t have possibly _meant_ to leave such a loophole. I’ve addressed that; we’ll see how it holds up. Again, consider the Roosevelt context, and consider what the Supreme Court would do. “Well, it doesn’t _say_ that you can’t _succeed_ to a third term–you just can’t be elected!” would be a child’s legal argument. The SC would just say, “A person can’t serve three terms as POTUS. End of chat.” Anyhow, Trump trying to succeed someone to a third term, as by being elected VP, would be as obvious a trick as could possibly exist, and it would weaken his election prospects considerably. I mean, if it didn’t, if Trump were _so_ popular in 2028 that such a thing could work, then the guy would have simply declared himself to be dictator by then anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/85 "2025-03-31T20:57:25Z")
Republican Congressman Mike Lawler says that if Trump can run for a third term, so can Obama. > **[Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com)](https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3llp7eydtnf2s)** > > Mike Lawler on Trump possibly running for a third time: "As a Republican, I and many would not be open to the idea of Barack Obama running for a third term. So I think folks have to be careful here." ---
**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:** [March 31, 2025, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/86 "2025-03-31T20:57:34Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Even if he can outwit the Constitution, which seems unlikely As a result of some conversations I’ve had in the last few months, I have come to realize that an awful lot of people do not understand what happened when the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade. In fact, quite a lot think that the Supreme Court _ **edited** _ the constitution to make Roe v. Wade unconstitutional. If some people think that to court did this to get rid of RvW, then there are probably people who think the court can edit the 22nd amendment out of existence. Actually, they probably don’t even know about the 22nd amendment-- they just know that somehow the constitution says “Two terms!” It’s going to take another amendment to repeal the 22nd, just like the 21st repealed the 18th. Notwithstanding the 18-year-old-vote (amendment 26), four years is about the minimum amount of time it takes to ratify a new amendment-- and here’s the rub-- they don’t usually benefit the people _who were in power when they were ratified_. The 27th amendment even specifically says representatives can’t vote themselves raises-- just raises for the next representatives who replace them. So even if the 22nd were repealed under Trump, I’m betting that as long as we as sticking to the formality of ratifying amendments, and have not tossed out the constitution altogether in four years, and Trump hasn’t been crowned king, someone will see to it that the text of the new amendment has language that it takes effect _after_ the term of the current president. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/87 "2025-03-31T21:05:08Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > I’ve lived through a bunch of moments over the past 40 years that supposedly marked the high-water mark of the conservative ascendancy. (ETA: E.g. remember “peak wingnut” in 2008?) Yet here we are. The GOP isn’t “conservative” in any sense at this point. It has _evolved_ into a fascist insurgency that does not respect the rule of law, conservative principles, or anything of that nature. The GOP can’t reach a higher peak at this point than taking total power, since that’s the point of a fascist insurgency. It’s do or die. The good news is that it’s gonna be “die.” Naturally, like any organization, evil or not, the GOP will try to survive post-Trump: “Hey, um, guys, we’re _conservatives._ Yeah, remember that? Tax cuts, law and order–that kind of thing. Mmm hmm.” They’ll try to grab back the old brand. The morons who thought an “R” in 1980 is the same as an “R” in 2024 will buy it, but they’re dying off. The deplorables will be completely uninterested. The GOP will be disgraced and radioactive. That’s the future of this fascist ratfuck “party.” ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/88 "2025-03-31T21:08:58Z")
All that you say is true. I don’t hear, however, much _serious_ talk about amending the constitution to allow Trump to run for a third term (there are moron Republicans that have proposed such things, of course), inasmuch as it’s almost impossible to amend the constitution. Thus, they are thinking in terms of tricks and hacks like the scammers they are. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/89 "2025-03-31T21:10:10Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > Yeah. I stopped believing in all the rhetoric about the “pendulum swinging back” long ago. There’s no pendulum, there’s a ratchet that only goes rightwards; and once it’s all the way to the Right they’ll nail it in place. Long ago… before Obama and then Biden were elected?! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/90 "2025-03-31T21:34:05Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Republican Congressman Mike Lawler says that if Trump can run for a third term, so can Obama. Trump has said that he should get a ‘do over’ because ‘they’ where so mean to him in his first term. Stupid laws. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/91 "2025-03-31T21:37:16Z")
“Do-over”? Maybe he really is only 12 years old. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/92 "2025-03-31T21:40:18Z")
I think it’s more reasonable to say that the current GOP has done a _whole lot_ of demographic and psychographic analysis, backed out from what an EC win would look like, identified the voters they needed to animate, and then – in keeping with some measure of their fundamental values – crafted a platform and a message likely to sway those voters. The country hasn’t shifted left _as an electorate,_ but – IMHO – the GOP shifted markedly rightward _as a way to win elections._ And they post turtled a high-profile demagogue who seemed ready, willing, and eager to play the part. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/93 "2025-03-31T21:40:27Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > I tried to make this argument in another thread, but was shot down immediately, so I backed off from a potential derailment. Glad to see that somebody else here agrees with me. SCOTUS (not this one) has ruled based on whether or not a comma is there, There is no way they will confuse “elected to” with “secede to”, if for no other reason that SCOTUS will say the drafters of the amendment could have barred someone from _becoming_ President for a third term if they wanted. I agree Trump could take the VP to Prez route. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/94 "2025-03-31T21:41:21Z")
The Onion, right on schedule: > **[Trump Says He Won’t Rule Out Third Reich](https://theonion.com/trump-says-he-wont-rule-out-third-reich/)** > > Est. reading time: 1 minute ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/95 "2025-03-31T21:50:06Z")
> [@DavidNRockies](#): > > I think it’s more reasonable to say that the current GOP has done a _whole lot_ of demographic and psychographic analysis, backed out from what an EC win would look like, identified the voters they needed to animate, and then – in keeping with some measure of their fundamental values – crafted a platform and a message likely to sway those voters. They did? When? Not in 2016, when Trump was a surprise that none of the other GOP candidates wanted. Not in 2020, when the party didn’t actually have a platform at the convention (and they lost). And 2024 was just Trump being Trump. I won’t say that, along the way, Trump and his lackeys never hired political consultants, media consultants, etc., but in no way does it seem that GOP at any point did some sort of holistic analysis of the type you speculate about above. Rather, the GOP is currently Trump’s simp and gimp. Just like their master, they have no coherent message or plan. > [@](#): > > The country hasn’t shifted left _as an electorate,_ but – IMHO – the GOP shifted markedly rightward _as a way to win elections._ It shifted toward complete fealty to Trump. > [@](#): > > And they post turtled a high-profile demagogue who seemed ready, willing, and eager to play the part. I mean, the demagogue was their only path to power in 2016, then in 2020, then in 2024. The embraced him because not doing so meant losing. They have no principles. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/96 "2025-03-31T21:54:12Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > SCOTUS (not this one) has ruled based on whether or not a comma is there, There is no way they will confuse “elected to” with “secede to”, if for no other reason that SCOTUS will say the drafters of the amendment could have barred someone from _becoming_ President for a third term if they wanted. Not bloody likely. The dominant faction in the court are originalists and the intent of the text is clearly to prevent people from.serving more than two terms by codifying the precedent established by Washington, not “they can serve as many terms as they want as long as they’re clever about it”. To expect them to rule otherwise is on the level of Nixon’s head in Futurama saying that since he no longer has a body the “nobody gets more than two terms” rule doesn’t apply to him. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/97 "2025-03-31T21:57:22Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So faith, then. Trump is all powerful. Again, Trump is not “All Powerful”. Trump has _enablers in key government positions that will let him do what he wants_. Any plan to stop him that relies on those people to “do the right thing” will fail. Any plan that doesn’t recognize this will fail. So what is _your_ plan to “do something about this”? Waving your hands about “laws” and “constitutions” won’t cut it. What is your plan to replace his enablers? What is your plan to convince his enablers to do the right thing? What is your plan to do anything else that might stop Trump? ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/98 "2025-03-31T21:59:01Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I won’t say that, along the way, Trump and his lackeys never hired political consultants, media consultants, etc., but in no way does it seem that GOP at any point did some sort of holistic analysis of the type you speculate about above. Just bullet pointed. High profile members of his data mining and analysis teams: 2016: - Cambridge Analytica - Brad Parscale - Jared Kushner - Kellyanne Conwaay - Steve Bannon 2020: - Brad Parscale - Bill Stepien - Targeted Victory - Data Trust - Jared Kushner 2024 (sketchier information): - Brad Parscale - Targeted Victory - Data Trust I think Trump is less of a fluke that rose out of chaos by happenstance than the byproduct of a targeted campaign helped along by party organization, resources, and machinery, even if not initially. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/99 "2025-03-31T22:02:21Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Again, Trump is not “All Powerful”. Trump has _enablers in key government positions that will let him do what he wants_. “Trump’s not all powerful, it’s just that he can do whatever he wants and nobody can stop him.” > [@Horatius](#): > > So what is _your_ plan to “do something about this”? Waving your hands about “laws” and “constitutions” won’t cut it. What is your plan to replace his enablers? What is your plan to convince his enablers to do the right thing? What is your plan to do anything else that might stop Trump? Vote. Sue. Organize. Protest. Boycott. Above all, have faith. Whats your plan besides telling everyone that he can’t be stopped and there’s nothing we can do? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2025, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371/100 "2025-03-31T22:03:44Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Not bloody likely. The real test will be in Colorado and other states with a similar law. In our election law, no one ineligible to be elected to that office can be on the ballot. If Trump runs for President and Colorado keeps him off of the primary ballot, what will SCOTUS do. If he kept of the general ballot as Vice-President, what will SCOTUS rule? He’s (in)eligible to be elected Vice-President? Colorado is only voting for electors so it is up to Congress to use their non-existent power to declare him ineligible on 1/6? > [@Smapti](#): > > The dominant faction in the court are originalists and the intent of the text is clearly to prevent people from.serving more than two terms No, it is clearly to prevent people from being _elected_ for more than two terms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-wont-rule-out-3rd-term/1016371.md?page=6)