Despite 44 of the 45 men who have served as President of the United States only serving two or fewer terms, the discussion around President Donald Trump and a potential third term in the Oval Office continues to circulate. While his adversaries may not like it, he’s not the first to spark the conversation.
First, some clarification.
Under the 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution, “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
However, the amendment does allow for a person to serve a total of 10 years as president, but that would require the person to take over halfway through a term someone else won.
This means that the only way Trump could legally serve another term at this moment is if the 22nd Amendment was repealed, amended, or he became vice president and took over after two years.
Why does the amendment exist?
The 22nd Amendment was first introduced in 1946 after Republicans had won control of Congress and was ratified in 1951.
After the conclusion of World War II, the U.S. had gone through an unprecedented time with the White House, as former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had won four consecutive terms in office. The move was sought to further place checks and balances on the executive branch of government.
FDR had broken from the two-term tradition set by the nation’s first president, George Washington, but he was not the first to serve two terms and run for a third — he was simply the first to win a third.
Other presidents to run for a third term before the 22nd Amendment include Ulysses S. Grant, Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Grover Cleveland.
With FDR’s tenure in office during the Great Depression and the last World War, historians have long said that his steady hand at the wheel during the two crises was needed.
“You have economic-domestic issues, and you have foreign policy with the outbreak of World War II in 1939,” Barbara Perry, professor and director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, shared with History. “And then you have his own political viability—he had won the 1936 election with more than two-thirds of the popular vote.”
Previous calls for change
Even though members of Congress felt the 22nd Amendment was necessary, over the years, there have been calls to repeal it, including in the first presidency the amendment restricted.
According to observers, many felt that Dwight D. Eisenhower would have won a third term, had he not been held to two. Instead, he served from 1953 to 1961.
Two decades later, another popular president sparked a conversation about serving a third term as then-Rep. Guy Vander Jagt (R-MI) called for amending the U.S. Constitution in 1986 to allow then-President Reagan to serve a third term.
“Ronald Reagan is one of the greatest American Presidents of all time, and I want to keep him on the job,” he wrote at the time, according to Time.
Reagan discussed the two-term limit, as did former President Bill Clinton, saying that it should instead restrict a person from serving more than two consecutive terms. However, both men were talking about the future and not themselves.
Today’s discussion
The discussion surrounding Trump serving a third term has been stoked by his supporters and, at times, himself.
During a discussion with House Republicans in November, after winning back the White House, Trump commented that he wouldn’t be running again, unless something changed.
“I suspect I won’t be running again, unless you do something. Unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we have to just figure it out,’” Trump said. Several members of the GOP have said Trump was joking in his remarks.
However, one lawmaker has moved to make it possible, as Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) recently introduced a resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution and allow Trump to run again since he was not elected to two consecutive terms. Ogles’ proposed amendment would also stop a person from being elected more than three times.
“He has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal,” Ogles said.
How the U.S. Constitution is amended
Even if the resolution from Ogles gains momentum, it remains unlikely that it ever reaches the finish line, being that many consider it controversial and that it’s extremely difficult to amend the Constitution without bipartisan support.
To ratify an amendment, a resolution must first pass with two-thirds support in both houses of Congress before it is sent to the states. Then, three-quarters of all state legislatures, or 38 states, must vote to ratify it.
The last amendment to be ratified was the 27th Amendment in 1992. Since then, more than 1,400 have been proposed in Congress, and none have even made it to the states.