US President Trump is innocent: People would ask him to run as president again in 2028, he said, and thus once again fueled speculation about whereabouts in office. But does the constitution allow that?
The President asked himself the question – or he does. On Monday he was asked by journalists in the White House about the possibility of a third term and was unsuspecting. He “never dealt with it”, he replied, adding innocence: “It is said that there is a way, but I don't know.” And in general: the wish comes from the population – “people ask me to run”.
Immediately after his election victory in November, Trump began to fuel speculation about a third term. On November 13th he told MPs that he would probably not compete again – “unless she says: 'He is so good, we have to think about something else.”
And so after his return to the White House it went on with always new statements: On January 20, he said in Las Vegas that it would be the greatest honor for him to “not even serve the Americans, but twice – or three times or four times”. He added immediately, no, these were only “headlines of the fake news”.
At the beginning of February the next allusion, now at a “National Prayer Breakfast” in Washington. Trump spoke about the idea of having a garden with statues of honorable Americans built. The 78-year-old gave himself a “period of 25 years” for the decision to be honored there. Shortly afterwards, the New York Times reported, he also said at a breakfast in a hotel in Washington: “It means that I couldn't run again. Then someone said: 'I don't think you can.' Oh!”
The last statements come from Saturday and Monday. In a telephone interview with NBC, Trump explained to the corresponding question of the reporter that there were many people who wished for a third term – and he was concentrated on the present, but love to work. And he was serious, Trump emphasized – “I'm not joking”. There are ways that would give him another candidacy.
Asked whether he could compete in the team with Vice President JD Vance – only with exchanged roles and Vance could then leave him the office of president after a possible election victory by quick resignation, Trump said: That was a way. And there are others. He did not want to explain which. The debate was again in the world.
Most constitutional experts agree: the US constitution does not allow Trump's candidacy. They justify this with the 22nd constitutional additive. There it says: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more Than Twice.” – In German: “Nobody should be elected more than twice to the president.”
Trump was elected in 2016 and 2024, and the interruption of four years should not play a role here, because the constitutional additive does not list any restrictive requirements such as “one after the other” or “in a row”.
The idea of getting back into office through the back door, as a president Vance, would leave him the office could also violate the constitution. The US lawyer Derek T. Muller from the University of Notre Du Lac in the US state of Indiana refers to the 12th constitutional additive. This stipulates that a person who is not entitled to become a US president is also not justified to become Vice President (“No Person Constitutional Ineligible to the Office of President Shall Be Eligible to that of Vice-Presited of the United States”).
Muller believes that this is the run for a former president who has had two terms of office as vice. He is convinced that there are “no crazy tricks” to avoid the restriction to two terms of office.
However, there are legal experts who interpret the 12th addition differently. So the lawyer Bruce G. Peabody interprets him closer than Muller. The wording “authorized” only refers to the guidelines of the constitution who may become president – people who are from birth to the citizens of the United States and at least 35 years old.
Peabody sees opportunities for Trump to get into the White House again. Compared to the Factcheck.org portal, he pointed out a variety of possibilities of how this could succeed – be it through the Vice President model or be it by taking a former president of a different political position that is a little further back in the succession plan.
For example, this could be the office of the spokesman for the House of Representatives. This stands in second place in the succession plan and, according to the constitution, takes over the office of head of state if both President and Vice President are no longer able to exercise their office. To do this, Trump would have to run for the House of Representatives in 2028.
Yes and no – with Franklin D. Roosevelt there was a president in the past century who moved into the White House four times. The Democrat was elected 32nd President of the United States in 1932 and started again in 1936, 1940 and 1944. As a result, the 22nd constitutional was introduced in 1951 – especially on the initiative of the Republicans.
Until then, it was a kind of unwritten law that a US president only serves two terms. This went back to the first President George Washington, who in 1797 waived a third term and thus created a kind of standard for his successors.
Only Franklin D. Roosevelt was more than two hours of office – here in 1941 he signed the declaration of war against Japan.
In theory, she can do that. However, a two-thirds majority is required, in the Senate and House of Representatives. However, the Republicans are far away in both houses.
In addition, 75 percent of the US states would have to agree – here too, the number of states ruled by Republicans and Democrats is closely related. A constitutional change is therefore highly unlikely under the current majority, even if some supporters of Trump hope for them publicly.
In the reading of the White House, it is the media that plunge to the topic. The president is constantly being asked for this topic, said his spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, answering “honestly and openly with a smile” – and then everyone goes crazy about his answers. In the White House you really don't think about it.
On the other hand, Trump repeatedly emphasizes that the thought of him is approaching him in order to continue spinning it. Republican political strategist Dave Carney says that the president is concerned with keeping citizens and in particular the political opponent in uncertainty. The left would “go crazy”, others would get an bad feeling and ponder intentions about Trump's intentions – this is generally part of his style of government.
Constitution expert Muller believes that Trump wants to counteract the impression that he was a “lame duck”. A US President who cannot be re -elected has often struggled with declining loyalty towards the end of his term – his time is running, potential successors come into position and the eyes of the MPs and the public are increasingly aimed at the possible successors. Trump, Muller, wants to prevent that.
The New York Times assigns Trump's debate to keep the public with new headlines and to deal with it. In this case, it draws attention from the scandal about the Signal Group, which had also caused considerable unrest within the Republicans last week.
And by the way, the mind games offer him the opportunity to work through his first predecessor in office. If he, Trump, was allowed to run again, the Democrats could not try to send ex -President Barack Obama into the race, a Fox News reporter asked on Monday – without Obama even showing the slightest interest in it.
Trump liked that. He liked the idea, he replied – “that would be a good thing”.
