After former President Donald Trump won election to a second term in the White House, many were asking online "Can Trump run for president in 2028?".
As the U.S. Constitution was originally written, the Framers did not set any rules around term limits.
One president was in fact elected to a third term in U.S. history. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected to a third term in 1940, and then a fourth term in 1944.
What did the U.S. Constitution originally say about term limits for president?
The U.S. Constitution, as it was originally written, did not specify any term limits for president.
It set requirements around citizenship and age, but not around term limits.
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"No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States," Article II, section I reads.
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But the law around term limits would change in 1951, when the 22nd amendment was ratified.
What is the 22nd amendment to the Constitution and what does it say about term limits?
The twenty-second amendment to the U.S. Constitution limits a president to two terms.
The 22nd amendment reads: "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."
Can Donald Trump serve a third term as president?
According to the U.S. Constitution and the 22nd amendment, President-elect Trump could not run for a third term in 2028, even though his two terms will have been non-consecutive.
