this post was submitted on 14 Nov 2024
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im 100% canadian, I dont live in the US and wondering about your system.

so as i understand your political system, a president can only hold office 2 terms. in Trumps case, he served once already, does that mean he can only serve one more, or is the clock reset and he gets a shot at 8 years?

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 5 days ago

You can only serve 2 terms. Period. Doesn't matter if there is a gap between the terms. He served one. This is his last time, unless he does exactly what he plans to and eliminates elections to become SUPREME OVERLORD OF AMERICA.

[–] [email protected] 76 points 6 days ago (4 children)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-second_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution

Section 1. 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 the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.

"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice," doesn't say consecutively. It would take a HUUUUGE leap of logic to insert that word where it doesn't exist. I'm sure someone will make the argument, but by the letter and the intent of the law, Trump is done after this term.

"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 the President more than once." If Trump has a heart attack and dies before January 20, 2027, Vance would take over and serve 2+ years as President, meaning he could only be elected once for one four-year term.

The rest of Section 1 just means anyone who was in office at the time is grandfathered into the old rules (no limits).

[–] [email protected] 50 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It would take a HUUUUGE leap of logic

US Fifth Circuit of Appeals and Supreme Courts: "Hold My Beer"

For example, if Trump's Republican Congress gets rid of elections, then this Amendment doesn't matter.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago

They probably won't get rid of elections... they'll just have sham elections like Russia has to give the impression of "legitimacy" but I guarantee they'll be heavily rigged in their favor.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Trump's SCOTUS: trump isn't a person, he's an idea, a movement, therefore term limits are not applicable to him.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

In that case they should free his would be assassins, nothing illegal about trying to kill a movement, just ask the CIA, they do it all the time.

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[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

The logic train has left the station in the US judicial system.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Now I'm curious: if Person A serves two full terms as US president, then Person B (from the same party) runs and chooses A as their vice-president, and then steps down, what would happen? Would A be unable to be picked as B's Vice President in first place, or would A simply be legally unable to be sworn in as President after B stepped down and the Speaker of the House gets the position instead?

[–] [email protected] 52 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Legally he's only got 2 terms. However as my government teacher explained, the constitution says what the Supreme Court says it says. So who knows what they'll say about it.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They'd have to do some "creative interpretation" of the law

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They've already said that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment doesn't exist.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Very creative

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

He didn’t win the popular vote first time so they’ll argue he wasn’t “elected” then.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Short of congress changing the law or a successful coup, neither of which are necessarily off the table, yes these next four years will be Trump's last in office. Who knows what either party will have to offer in 2028.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Thankfully it is not a law and congress can't change it. It's the 22nd amendment to the constitution and thus would require 3/4 of the states to ratify a change. A coup is more likely.

[–] WolfLink 15 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Or the Supreme Court makes something up about why it doesn’t count

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 days ago (1 children)
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[–] [email protected] 65 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Legally he can't. But legally that fucker should have been in jail long ago, so who knows.

[–] [email protected] 35 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Right, there's also a constitutional amendment saying insurrectionists can't stand for office

[–] [email protected] 22 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I really wish Biden had gone after him 10% as hard as he went after Sanders.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

Biden is the chief executive I don't know why the courts had any say in executing a law that is already on the books. A strong president would have done his job executing the law and making the SC enforce their over reaching decision themselves.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Does it even matter? trump can get convicted of insurrection but the supreme court can just decide that he hasnt committed an act of insurrection based on their interpretation.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Being President is an official act of the office of President, the President isn't accountable for crimes as part of official acts, therefore breaking the law on Presidential term limits by staying President is legal.

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[–] [email protected] 40 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's 2 total terms. There's no "resetting the clock" in that rule. Any attempt to remain in power for a third term would be blatantly unconstitutional.

That said, there's a real concern that he's likely to try anyway, and a non-zero chance that he'd succeed if he manages to fill enough of the government and military with people more loyal to him than to the constitution.

[–] [email protected] 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's worth mentioning that this has only been the case since the 1950's. FDR was elected four times and died during his final term, after which term limits were added to the constitution in response.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's also worth adding, though, that the convention of only running for at most two terms had existed pretty much since the establishment of the republic (until FDR broke it), when Washington and Jefferson each chose not to run for third terms

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

Yup, Washington was wildly popular at the time. He easily could have stayed in office indefinitely, as long as nothing horrible happened. But his reasoning was that they had just rebelled against a monarchy, and he didn’t intend to start another one.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Correct, this is the last time he can be elected.

“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 the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.” https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xxii

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Unless you change the rules with the help of the supreme court of which you elected several judges. I mean, Xi and Putin did it, why can't Trump?

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (3 children)

By all means, I'd expect him to try, however, this is a constitutional amendment. The Supreme Court can't take back an amendment the way they can strike down laws (I.e. by ruling it unconstitutional for whatever reason), because it IS constitutional by definition.

Thankfully, the Constitution is also very specific about what it takes to amend it further. 2/3 of both chambers of Congress, or 2/3 of state legislatures must vote to just propose an amendment, and then, to pass the amendment, they need 3/4 of the vote. Because the process is enumerated, there's no legal ambiguity they can use to shape their ruling the way they want. To remove term limits, you must amend the Constitution. To amend the Constitution, you must meet these (intentionally) high thresholds. If A -> then B.

So, unless Trump is able to woo half of the sitting Democrats, as well as 100% of the Republicans, we're safe from the system being used to guillotine itself (instead, the system will spend the next 4 years hitting itself in the face with a bat). Now, if Trump wants to seize power outside of the system, that's a different ball game, and the relative friendliness of judges and Congress is a moot point.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

The Supreme Court can’t take back an amendment the way they can strike down laws (I.e. by ruling it unconstitutional for whatever reason), because it IS constitutional by definition.

Yeah, but the problem is that the Supreme Court are also the arbiters of the interpretation of the document, and there's nothing to suggest that they can't simply come out and say "Oh, it means two consecutive terms", which is exactly what Putin does in Russia with their term limits - some stooge takes over for a term and then Putin wins in yet another landslide.

I mean, the 22nd Amendment is very clean, IMO. "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice" is pretty unambiguous, but I really can't put anything past this corrupt administration. A coup is probably more likely, but if Trump can somehow get the law on his side he won't need to, so I'm sure he would prefer that route.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Same happened with Hitler. We all know how that turned out. There are humorous similarities, like addiction to amphetamines and not drinking alcohol.

People who really want to do harm always find ways to bend the rules and get away with it.

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I hope accurate assinations make a come back if that happens.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago

Accurate Assassinations is a nice band name.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The only exception I know to 2 terms and 8 years are getting moved from vice president to president and I think that also has a limit. The problem is the US president is now above the law and no one other than congress can stop him, and his sycophants own congress.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 days ago

Iirc if the vice replaces the pres after the halfway mark of the term they can server two full terms.

[–] [email protected] 32 points 6 days ago (1 children)

US Presidents are limited to two terms, it doesn’t matter if they are consecutive. Grover Cleveland is the only other president who has served two non-consecutive terms.

Term-limits are a relatively recent addition though, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was only ratified in 1951 after Franklin Roosevelt served four terms.

[–] [email protected] 21 points 6 days ago (1 children)

And just an addendum for non-Americans who also aren’t likely/don’t have time to click the links, FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) was elected to 4 terms but died 82 days into his 4th term. He was succeeded by the vice president, Harry S. Truman.

Prior to FDR all presidents had voluntarily limited themselves to 2 terms following the precedent of the first president, George Washington. FDR’s running for a 3rd term was controversial at the time; in 1940 the U.S. had not yet joined the Second World War and intervening was still controversial, although opposition dwindled with the fall of France. Interestingly, FDR seeking a 4th term was much less controversial with the U.S. in the thick of the war in 1944. The constitution was amended a few years later to make sure it didn’t happen again, though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Not always voluntary. Some tried for a third term and failed. Theo Roosevelt tried for a third term in 1912. Though his first term was taking over after McKinley was assassinated, but it was only some months in, and that would be covered as a first full term under the later amendment.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 6 days ago

He gets two terms, whether they're split up or not. This is his last term by law.

He's probably just going to stay anyway, because Republicans have managed to infect government with the kinds of losers who would back something like that.

[–] _haha_oh_wow_ 19 points 6 days ago

It means this is his last term, barring any changes to the law or extralegal shenanigans, period.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 6 days ago

Legally, yes. (But of course, the Supreme Court has turned interpreting the Constitution into a game of Calvinball.)

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

You can only be elected as president twice. You can probably hack the system by getting multiple other presidents to select you as vice president, then resign. If you serve more than 2 years of the term they were elected to, that reduces the number of times you can be elected as president to one.

The 22nd amendment doesn't say that someone that serves 3.99 years of another president's term multiple times can't still be elected, and it doesn't say that someone not qualified to be elected as president can't be elected as vice president, but the 12th amendment might. Either of those could be an interesting legal fight.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago (1 children)

That's against the rules though. I think it's the 13th amendment that says a president who was elected twice can't be selected as VP.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

The 13th ended slavery. You're probably thinking of the 12th which says that no person constitutionally ineligible to "be" president can be elected as vice president. Importantly, the 22nd only places limits on being "elected" as president, so it's not (necessarily) creating a constitutional requirement to "be" president by some other means.

Like I said, it could be an interesting legal fight if it even came up.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 days ago

I think it's technically written as 10 years. If a vice president replaced the president, he could serve 2 more terms as long as he only replaced the president for 2 years. If he served out more than 2 years, he could only be president for 1 additional term.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

It's two terms period. They do not have to be consecutive. There are ways for a President to serve more than 8 years but it's very specific and not really applicable in Trumps case. Unless they decide to toss out the constitution, which honestly seems kinda likely, then it's two terms.

But he's also a 80 year old man who eats McDonalds and coca cola while painting himself with orange, probably lead based, paint. I don't expect him to survive the next 4 years to be able to run again.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago

"Walk for president"

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (5 children)

The two term limit was set by the 22nd amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The language in it is that no person may be elected to the office of President for more than two terms. It does not specify any criteria about consecutive terms, meaning it doesn't matter. They simply can't be elected more than twice to the office President under any conditions. It also specifies that if they served more than two years as President when they weren't elected to that office (such as when a VP assumes the office after the President dies), they can't be elected to the office of President more than once. In other words, a 2+ year term of a president after succeeding the previous president whose term ends early, counts as a full term in regard to this 2 term limit.

In other words, this SHOULD be his last term. There are two legal loopholes, however. 1) If he somehow managed to coerce a skip or elimination of the next election, he could assume another term without defying the constitution. There is currently no mechanism to do that, but an act of a partisan Congress upheld by the partisan Supreme Court could make such a thing possible. 2) if he ran as VP for another person, which is constitutionally allowed, he could be elected as VP and then the elected President could resign, die, or be removed from office and Trump would be President again. Also, a new amendment to the constitution could be passed to negate or modify the 22nd amendments' term limit. Though that would require a lot of Democrats also voting for it.

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