Trump’s Third Term
The pundits are having a difficult time understanding how President Trump would fulfill his expressed desire to serve a third term as president. Some of them have fallen back on the possibility that he is joking and just trolling his critics. Others have come up with unlikely scenarios for achieving a third term. For example, one commentator asked Trump whether he planned to have J.D. Vance run as president, with Trump as his vice-presidential running mate. Under this scenario, Vance would resign immediately after the election, thereby elevating Trump to the presidency.
However, there are two problems with that scenario:
One, Trump couldn’t trust Vance to fulfill his part of the bargain. What if Vance changed his mind and decided to remain as president? That would leave Trump as vice-president for the next four years. He wouldn’t be very happy as vice-president. That’s the position that Vice President Garner said “is not worth a bucket of warm spit.”
Two, the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution prohibits someone from being a vice-presidential candidate if he is ineligible to serve as president. The 22nd Amendment, which prohibits someone from being elected president more than twice, renders Trump ineligible to run as president.
Trumpsters have raised the possibility of a constitutional amendment that would enable Trump to seek a third term. The problem there is that such an amendment would have to be passed by a two-thirds vote in both houses of Congress and then ratified by three-fourths of the states. That simply is not going to happen and certainly not within the next three years.
So, does all this mean that Trump is simply joshing about a third term as president in an effort to provoke and upset his detractors?
Not necessarily. There is another path to a third term for Trump, a very viable path, one that he might well be pondering.
Ever since the Constitution called the federal government into existence, there has been a big potential flaw in the system. Under our system of government, the judicial branch of the federal government is the final arbiter of what is legal and constitutional. The potential flaw has always been the assumption that the president would defer to the judicial branch and would comply with adverse rulings of the judicial branch.
This mindset of executive deference to judicial authority even extended to President Franklin Roosevelt, who was president during the “national emergency” of the Great Depression. Even
Article from The Future of Freedom Foundation
The Future of Freedom Foundation (FFF) is a leading voice in libertarian thought, tirelessly advocating for individual liberty, free markets, and limited government. Established in 1989, the FFF is more than just a think tank; it’s a hub for intellectual exploration and policy advocacy that draws on the classical liberal tradition and Austrian economics. Through insightful articles, videos, and events featuring top libertarian minds, the organization provides a robust critique of mainstream politics and policies, championing instead the principles that underlie a truly free society. For anyone seeking a principled stand for freedom and limited government, the Future of Freedom Foundation serves as an invaluable resource and an inspiring beacon.
