Fact Check: Trump can legally serve a third term despite the 22nd Amendment.

Fact Check: "Trump can legally serve a third term despite the 22nd Amendment."

What We Know

The claim that Donald Trump can legally serve a third term as President of the United States despite the 22nd Amendment is fundamentally flawed. The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, explicitly states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice” (source-1). Legal experts, including Jeremy R. Paul, a law professor, assert that under any reasonable interpretation of this amendment, Trump cannot run for a third term as he has already served two terms (2017-2021) (source-1).

Additionally, the 12th Amendment further clarifies that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of president shall be eligible to that of vice-president of the United States” (source-1). This means that even if Trump were to run as vice president, he would still be considered ineligible for the presidency due to the restrictions imposed by the 22nd Amendment.

Analysis

While some discussions have emerged regarding potential "end runs" around the 22nd Amendment, such as Trump running as a vice presidential candidate and then being elevated to the presidency through succession, these scenarios lack legal grounding. William Baude, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School, emphasizes that the language of the 22nd Amendment leaves “no wiggle room” for interpretation that would allow Trump to serve more than two terms (source-2).

Moreover, the idea that a former president could circumvent the amendment by becoming vice president and then ascending to the presidency through succession is speculative and not supported by established legal precedent. Legal scholars have largely dismissed these theories as impractical and unlikely to hold up in court (source-3).

The notion that Trump could somehow manipulate the system to serve a third term is further complicated by the requirement for a constitutional amendment to change presidential term limits, which would necessitate a supermajority in Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states—a daunting task (source-2).

Conclusion

The claim that Donald Trump can legally serve a third term despite the 22nd Amendment is False. The constitutional language is clear, and legal experts agree that any attempt to bypass these restrictions would likely fail in court. The 22nd Amendment was specifically designed to prevent any individual from serving more than two terms as president, and there are no credible legal avenues available for Trump to circumvent this rule.