The 22nd Amendment Won't Prevent a Third Trump Term

Donald Trump is talking about running for a third term, yet again. Hakeem Jeffries and other establishment Democrats are convinced that the 22nd amendment to the U.S. Constitution means Trump cannot run for a third term, and that he’s simply trying to distract us. Aaron Rupar, in his newsletter, Public Notice, explains why we — particularly our leaders — shouldn’t dismiss it as a mere distraction. I’m in agreement with Rupar.

Veep-Hole?

Previously, I hadn’t considered the scenario wherein Vice President J.D. Vance runs for president with Trump as his running mate, gets elected, then resigns, leaving the next in line, i.e., Trump, to become president a third time. After considering it, and pondering the character of Trump, Vance, and the sycophants who surround them, it’s a scheme they’re all unscrupulous enough to execute.

The 22nd Amendment Isn’t Ironclad

The 22nd amendment doesn’t explicitly prevent such a scenario, so there is a loophole. As we’ve seen repeatedly in the past, Trump’s acolytes love to exploit loopholes, and use their imagination to see things that aren’t actually there. It only stipulates that “no person… shall be elected” more than twice. That’s not even a loophole; it’s a gaping hole that even the most casual observer can see. There’s little, other than tradition and norms, to prevent Trump and Vance from engaging in this sort of tomfoolery.

The 12th amendment may act as a kind of duct tape to reinforce the 22nd amendment, but as noted in this Wikipedia article, “it is unclear whether someone who is ineligible to be elected president due to term limits could be elected vice president.” As is often the case, there is legal debate over what the 12th amendment covers and doesn’t cover, and the topic has surfaced before.

SCOTUS Won’t Help Us

We can’t rely on the Supreme Court to save us. The court has already invented the concept of presidential immunity, but they wouldn’t even need to fabricate anything in this instance. A textualist/originalist interpretation may be sufficient to justify upholding the scheme, and one needn’t find someone like John Eastman for creative interpretations.

Commit to Participating

Let’s take this seriously, and ensure we prevail electorally in both 2026 and 2028. As many have already said, we only have ourselves to rely on at this point. Vote like your life and country depend on it. Encourage others to vote by canvassing, calling or writing letters.