Explained: Donald Trump hints at a third term as US President. But can he? 5 points exploring Constitutional hurdles

On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said he is ‘not joking’ about running for a third term. The 47th President said, “There are methods by which you could do it.”

The suggestion by 78-year-old Trump requires him to breach the two-term limit for American presidents, which the US Constitution has mandated for over 70 years.

Trump was US president for the first term between 2017 and 2021. His second term, which started in January this year, will last till 2029.

What does the US Constitution say?

The US Constitution in the 22nd Amendment puts a two-term limit on Presidents. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice,” reads the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution.

The two-term limit was ratified after Franklin D Roosevelt was elected US President four times, with his final term in 1944. At that time, there were concerns surrounding the President “entrenching powers of a kinglike manner”, according to Kimberly Wehle, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, who spoke with the New York Times.

Even before 1951, when the 22nd Amendment was ratified, the framers of the US Constitution failed to enact term limits for US Presidents in 1803, 1824, and 1826.

Can the 22nd Amendment be changed?

Trump needs to amend the Constitution to allow himself a third term. Congress must propose the amendment in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Changing or repealing the 22nd Amendment would require a two-thirds majority in both houses.

No amendment has been ratified in the US since the 1990s. The first was proposed in the 1700s. The last amendment to be ratified before that was the 26th Amendment in the 1960s, during the Vietnam War era, which lowered the voting age to 18.

An amendment can also be proposed by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislature. This provision has never been included in the 27 amendments passed in the US to date.

Does Trump have numbers?

The Republicans currently hold 53 of 100 seats in the Senate and 218 of 435 seats in the House of Representatives. Clearly, Republicans are short of the required majority.

As things stand, Trump doesn't have numbers to do it.

This is not the first time Trump has hinted at the possibility of a third presidency. He has previously suggested that he should receive additional terms due to what he considers unfair treatment during his first presidency.

In January, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles introduced a House Joint Resolution to amend the Constitution of the US to allow the US Constitution to allow President Donald Trump — and any other future president — to serve a third term in the White House.

Alternative routes to the third term?

The two-term ban applies to being ‘elected’ more than twice. If his running mate resigned, Trump could win the vice presidential race first and then assume the presidency.

As per the US Constitution, if a Vice President becomes President in the middle of the existing President's term, she or he can still serve two complete terms as President if she or he assumes office with less than half the term of the predecessor remaining.

In an NBC interview, President Trump was asked if he would get Vice President JD Vance to run for the Presidential post and later “pass the baton.”

“Well, that's one,” Trump responded. “There are methods by which you could do it,” he added.

That means Vance has to be elected President of the US with Trump as his running mate in the next US election. Eventually, Vance has to resign, with Trump, his Vice President, taking over.

Remember, by the end of his second term, Trump, now 78, would be the oldest US president in history, aged 82.

Can Trump run for VP in 2028?

The 12th Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1804, provides the procedure for electing the president and vice president. Experts say that this 12th Amendment makes President Trump ineligible to be the Vice President.

“No person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States,” reads the 12th Amendment.

So, while the 22nd Amendment makes Trump ineligible to run for president again in 2028, the 12th Amendment extends this ineligibility to him being Vice President. So, this would need another Constitutional amendment.