Former president Donald Trump stormed to victory in the 2024 presidential election, securing another four years in the White House – but could he make it eight?
In short, probably not.
The 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution, introduced 1951, prohibits presidents for running more than two total terms.
The rule states that ‘no person shall be elected to the office of the 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 to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of President more than once.’
Since Trump was 45th President of the United States from 2016 to 2020 and will soon be the 47th President from 2024, he will have maxed out the tenure by 2028.
However, the incoming leader has suggested that a third term isn’t 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 make it eight?
Trump’s election victory on Wednesday also makes him the first president in over 130 years – and only the second in history – to win a non-consecutive second term
Supporters of Republican presidential nominee former President 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’ during a National Rifle Association event in May.
To achieve this, he would need to overturn the 22nd Amendment – entailing an arduous political process that would be unlikely to succeed.
Trump would have to secure a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress or a constitutional convention called 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 has also previously indicated that 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 told Time magazine in April this year.
‘I intend to serve four years and do a great job. And I want to bring our country back. I want to put it back on the right track.’
Donald Trump regained the White House on Wednesday after being declared the winner of the 2024 U.S. presidential election just after 5.30am
Supporters of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump celebrate as Republican candidate Donald Trump surpassed 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the 2024 US presidential election in New York, United States on November 06, 2024
Trump’s election victory on Wednesday makes him the first president in over 130 years – and only the second in history – to win a non-consecutive second term.
Only one other American president was re-elected after a gap of four years between terms.
That was Grover Cleveland, who served as the 22nd president after the 1884 election, and as the 24th president after the campaign of 1892.
Cleveland was governor of New York when he was tapped as the Democratic Party’s nominee for president in 1884.
He was known for pushing for a reduction of tariffs that had been put in place during the Civil War, though his second term was marred by economic depressions 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.