Explained: Why can’t US presidents serve more than two terms?

When United States President Joe Biden announced his decision not to seek re-election after his first term, speculation swirled around who might replace him on the Democratic ticket.

Among the names floated in political discussions was former US President Barack Obama, whose two-term presidency remains a high point for many Democratic voters.

But could Obama, who remains highly popular, actually run for president again? The answer is simple: no, he cannot. He, like other two-term presidents, is barred from seeking the presidency again by the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution.

Interestingly, despite this limitation, the conversation about former US presidents like Obama resurfacing in politics has never entirely faded. Alongside Obama, names like Donald Trump, who has already served one term and is running again, have raised eyebrows.

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In August 2020 while seeking re-election, Trump, at a rally said, “We are going to win four more years… And then after that, we’ll go for another four years because they spied on my campaign. We should get a redo of four years.”

Trump was referring to Russia’s alleged interference into the 2016 US presidential elections which is currently under an FBI investigation.

The situation brings into focus the rules that dictate presidential eligibility, which stem from a long history shaped by both tradition and law.

To fully understand this aspect, we take a dive into the 22nd Amendment and the context that gave birth to it:

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All about the 22nd Amendment & the Roosevelt presidency

The 22nd Amendment, ratified on February 27, 1951, established a formal two-term limit for US presidents. This was largely a reaction to Franklin D Roosevelt’s unprecedented four-term presidency during some of the most turbulent times in US history — the Great Depression and World War II.

Roosevelt’s leadership through these crises earned him public support, with approval ratings fluctuating between 50 per cent and 60 per cent, but his extended presidency also sparked concern about the potential for unchecked executive power.

Historically, there was no limit on how many times a president could be re-elected. George Washington set a precedent when he chose not to seek a third term in 1796, setting an informal tradition that presidents would serve no more than two terms.

His decision helped establish the idea that two terms were sufficient for any president. This unwritten rule remained in place until Roosevelt broke the norm by winning a third term in 1940 and a fourth in 1944.

Roosevelt’s presidency ended abruptly in April 1945 when he died just a few months into his fourth term, sparking a national conversation about the concentration of power in one individual.

Soon after his death, Republicans in Congress pushed for a constitutional amendment to prevent future presidents from serving more than two terms.

Thus, the 22nd Amendment was born, limiting presidents to two elected terms or a maximum of ten years if they assumed the presidency through succession.

Key provisions of the 22nd Amendment

The 22nd Amendment states:
“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.”

This means a president can serve two full four-year terms. However, if a vice president or another successor takes over as president and serves more than two years of the predecessor’s term, they are only allowed to run for one more full term.

This provision ensures that no individual can hold the office for more than ten years in total.

The amendment also included an exemption for the sitting president at the time of its ratification, Harry S Truman, who had succeeded Roosevelt in 1945. Although Truman could have sought another full term under the new rules, he chose not to run in 1952.

The US presidents affected by the Amendment

The first president directly impacted by the 22nd Amendment was Dwight D Eisenhower, who served two terms from 1953 to 1961. After completing his second term, Eisenhower was barred from running again, marking the first instance of the new constitutional restriction taking effect.

Since then, several other presidents have been similarly affected. Lyndon B Johnson, for example, took over after John F Kennedy’s assassination in 1963. Because Johnson served less than two years of Kennedy’s term, he was allowed to run for two more full terms.

Johnson won his own term in 1964 but chose not to seek a second full term in 1968, despite being eligible.

Richard Nixon, elected in 1968 and re-elected in 1972, would have been affected by the amendment had he completed his second term. However, he resigned in 1974 due to the Watergate scandal.

Gerald Ford, who succeeded Nixon, served the remaining 29 months of Nixon’s term, making him eligible to run for only one full term under the 22nd Amendment. Ford ran in 1976 but lost to Jimmy Carter.

More recently, presidents like Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barack Obama have all been limited to two terms due to the 22nd Amendment.

While the idea of these former presidents returning to the political stage excites some voters, the law clearly prohibits them from running for a third term.

Looking at the loopholes

While Barack Obama is constitutionally barred from running for a third term, former US President Donald Trump remains eligible to run for office again, having only served one term from 2017 to 2021.

The 22nd Amendment’s restrictions only apply to presidents who have already served two terms.

Another interesting legal ambiguity arises from the intersection of the 22nd and 12th Amendments. The 12th Amendment states that no person “constitutionally ineligible to the office of President” can be elected as Vice President.

However, the 22nd Amendment only limits a person from being “elected” president more than twice. This has led to some debate over whether a two-term president like Obama could be elected vice president and ascend to the presidency through succession if the sitting president were to resign, die, or be removed from office.

Why is the 22nd Amendment necessary?

The 22nd Amendment has played a critical role in shaping the modern US presidency by ensuring regular turnover in leadership and preventing any one individual from holding too much power for too long.

Supporters argue that these term limits are essential for a healthy democracy, ensuring fresh perspectives and preventing entrenched leadership. Critics, however, sometimes suggest that the amendment restricts voter choice by barring popular leaders from continuing to serve.

While the possibility of a former two-term president like Obama re-entering the political arena remains legally closed, the door is still open for one-term presidents like Donald Trump to seek another shot at the Oval Office.

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Editor’s Note: Firstpost has also published a series of profiles taking a closer look at all past US presidents ahead of the 2024 presidential election between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.