Former President Donald Trump stormed to victory in the 2024 presidential election, securing another four years in the White House — but could he get eight?
In short, probably not.
The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, introduced in 1951, prohibits presidents from serving more than two total terms.
The rule states that “no person shall be elected to the office of President more than twice” and “no person who has held the office of President or acted as President for more than two years of any term for which another person has been elected President was elected, will be elected president more than once.”
Since Trump was the 45th President of the United States from 2016 to 2020 and will soon be the 47th President starting in 2024, he will have reached his term in office in 2028.
However, the new leader has suggested that a third term is not completely off limits for him.
Former President Donald Trump stormed to victory in the 2024 presidential election, securing another four years in the White House — but could he get eight?
Trump’s election victory on Wednesday also makes him the first president in more than 130 years – and only the second in history – to win a non-consecutive second term
Supporters of former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, Stephanie Smith, left, Sandi Steinbeck, center, and Thomas Brewer, right, cheer during a GOP election watch party at the Ahern Hotel, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas
The 78-year-old mused about being a “three-term president” at a National Rifle Association event in May.
To achieve this, he would have to destroy the 22nd Amendment, which would involve a difficult political process that is unlikely to be successful.
Trump would have to secure a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress, or a constitutional convention convened by two-thirds of state legislatures, to even propose a new amendment.
This would then require approval from three-quarters of state legislatures or state conventions.
The former president also previously indicated he would retire after 2028 rather than challenge the 22nd Amendment.
‘I wouldn’t be in favor of a challenge. Not for me. “I wouldn’t be in favor of it at all,” he said Time magazine in April this year.
“I plan to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to get it back on track.”
Donald Trump regained the White House on Wednesday after being declared the winner of the 2024 US presidential election just after 5:30 am
Supporters of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump celebrate as Republican candidate Donald Trump surpassed the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the 2024 United States presidential election in New York, United States on November 6, 2024
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Trump’s election victory on Wednesday makes him the first president in more than 130 years – and only the second in history – to win a non-consecutive second term.
Only one other U.S. president has been re-elected after a four-year gap between terms.
That was Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd president after the 1884 election and the 24th president after the 1892 campaign.
Cleveland was governor of New York when he was nominated as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president in 1884.
He was known for pushing for a reduction in tariffs imposed during the Civil War, although his second term was marred by economic depression and industrial strikes.
The 78-year-old politician will also become the oldest president ever inaugurated, beating President Joe Biden’s record by five months.