Communiqué
The Fight for a Third Trump Term: Can It Really Happen?
< < Back to Audio PlayerJust a month into Donald Trump’s second term as president, some of his supporters are already pushing a constitutional amendment to allow him a third term in office.
Even Trump, himself, is talking about the possibility of a third term being mandated by his MAGA supporters.
The day after Trump’s inauguration, Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Trump to run and be elected for a third term.
Currently, the 22nd Amendment which was ratified in 1951 prohibits a person from being elected more than twice as President.
The 22nd Amendment was passed after President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) failed to complete his fourth term in office. He was elected four times from 1932-1944.
This episode of Next Witness…Please, examines how constitutional amendments are ratified and the dangers to our democracy that may appear on the horizon.
Retired judges Gayle Williams-Byers and Thomas Hodson discuss the route for an amendment that starts with Congress, and they explain a second option in which the states call for a national Constitutional Convention.
They outline the processes to be followed to enact an amendment and how amending the federal constitution differs from amending most state constitutions.
Retired judges Byers and Hodson also discuss ways that Trump could grab a third presidential term without passing a constitutional amendment.
He could spawn a movement to repeal the 22nd Amendment; he could run for vice president and then have the titular president resign, or he could just ignore the constitution altogether by refusing to leave office despite current constitutional language.