The wrap-up of last year’s US Election has delivered a verdict imbued with potential long-term impacts for America and potentially the entire globe. The results showed that Donald Trump, revoking the norms, clinched victory over Kamala Harris in a rather decisive fashion. Despite Trump’s previous tenure from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021, lasting 1,461 days, his political tenacity led to him being re-elected post the 2020 electoral loss. This unusual event of a former President getting elected post a defeat has stirred questions about whether he has the leeway to run for election yet again in 2028.
Indeed, the American political landscape is more accustomed to consecutive two-term presidents. However, the US Constitution sets certain limits on the number of times one can hold the presidential office. These constraints were introduced in March 1947, and, following approval from the Senate, incorporated into the US Constitution on February 27, 1951.
Taking a look at the 22nd Amendment, a presidential candidate is restricted to being elected only twice. This translates into a maximum of two terms in the office, whether served consecutively or not. So how does the 2nd Amendment interpret the rule regarding presidential elections? It’s all about the specifics. Section 1 addresses this concern, establishing specific dilemmas related to the selection of Presidents.
Section 1 of the 2nd Amendment rules out the possibility of any person being elected to the presidency more than twice. Moreover, any person who has spent more than two years in a term that was initially assigned to some other elected President cannot be chosen for the office of President more than once. Nevertheless, this Article does not apply to anyone holding the role of President when the Congress proposed this Article and does not hinder any person who may be executing the duties of the President or acting as President from doing so during the rest of their term.
However, as the term suggests, amendments are inherently mutable. Locker room talk suggests that the inception of a constitutional amendment requires endorsement from either two-thirds of both the House of Representatives and the Senate or it can be touched off by the call of two-thirds of the states (38 out of 50), specifically summoning a convention for that purpose. This leads us to the directive laid down by Section 2.
Section 2 of the 22nd Amendment asserts that: ‘This article shall not come into effect unless it has been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date it was submitted to the States by the Congress’. Attempts to modify or revoke the 22nd Amendment have been made in the past by several presidents, however, none have tasted success.
It would be naive to assume that Trump, following his footsteps, might alter the Constitution to secure a third term in office. Success of such an uphill task seems dubious. After his second swearing-in ceremony this past January, it would stand to reason that Trump’s eligibility to run for the presidency a third time has now expired.
The coveted title of ‘the only US president to have held office for more than two terms’ belongs to Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd US President. His reign saw the nation through the Great Depression and the war years, spanning from January 1933 until his death in April 1945. In total, FDR served three complete terms and was two months into his fourth term when he passed.
The annals of US presidential history reveal that 13 Presidents have completed two four-year terms. Grover Cleveland gets a particular mention as he was the only one among them to have left office and made a triumphant return for a second non-consecutive term. The majority of the two term Presidents served before Roosevelt, with five of them achieving re-election success after the 22nd Amendment was ratified.
Out of the 45 individuals who have been crowned as the US President, 11 failed to complete a full four-year term. The list is quite variegated, featuring names from William Henry Harrison to the dismally ineffective Joe Biden.
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