Can Trump run again? How many times can one person be president?

On By Littum

game

Former President Donald Trump has already served one term in office, and if he wins this election, it will be his second. So he can’t run again… right?

How presidential terms work can be a bit confusing since it’s been so long since a president has lost a re-election bid after their first term, only to try to win the seat again after four years. Essentially, it only allows one person to hold the highest office in the United States twice (which need not be consecutive) and not indefinitely.

The US hasn’t always had them, but presidential terms are nothing new either. They have been around for more than 70 years.

Here’s a look at the ins and outs of presidential term limits and how long they’ve been around.

Is there anything in the constitution about the presidential term?

Yes, it is clearly outlined in the 22nd Amendment that a person serving as President can only hold the office twice. Here is what it says:

“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 a term in which another person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once walk.”

When did presidential term limits become part of the constitution?

The 22nd Amendment was ratified in 1951, according to the national constitutional center. The idea of ​​term limits originated with the Republicans after President Franklin D. Roosevelt won four consecutive elections. His presidency began in 1933 during the Great Depression and spanned 12 years until his death on April 12, 1945, in his fourth term.

However, it took almost four years for the amendment to be ratified.

Have there always been presidential term limits?

Not in writing.

The first president of the United States, George Washington, set an unofficial precedent when the first election in the United States took place. Washington served as president only twice, and several times declined to serve a third term.

In later years, Washington’s decision not to seek a third term was seen as a safeguard against the type of tyrannical power exercised by the British monarchy during the colonial era. According to the National Constitution Center, the concept of term limits was discussed at the Constitutional Convention when America was first founded, but not added to the Constitution at that time.

Has anyone sought more than two terms as president?

Only a handful of people have sought a third term as president before the 22nd Amendment was ratified.

  • Ulysses S. Grant tried for a third term in 1880, but he lost the Republican Party nomination to James Garfield
  • Grover Cleveland lacked party support for a third term
  • Woodrow Wilson hoped a deadlocked 1920 convention would turn him for a third term
  • Theodore Roosevelt initially went on to run for a third term in 1908, but would later run as a third-party candidate in 1912 after a falling out with then-President William Howard Taft. Roosevelt beat Taft, but both lost to Woodrow Wilson.

Has any president won non-consecutive elections?

Yes, but only one. Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States.

Others tried and failed.