When Franklin D. Roosevelt died on April 12, 1945, he was just beginning his fourth presidential term, an unprecedented event in the history of the United States. Although it was not written, since the presidency of George Washington, tradition established a maximum of two terms for the American president.
After FDR's death, who had to govern during the Great Depression and then in World War II, legislators, especially from the opposing Republican Party to Roosevelt and Harry Truman, pushed for the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution that limits the presidential term to two terms of four years each, whether consecutive or not.
The amendment was ratified in 1951.
Does Trump want to run for a third presidential term?
On January 20th, Donald John Trump will be sworn in as the oldest president in the history of the United States at 78 years old and in a hypothetical scenario where he could run for the next elections, he would do so at 82 years old.
Technically, as he is about to start his second term, Trump could not run as a candidate, but it is known that with the Republican magnate, laws are always relative.
In fact, a few weeks ago, in a meeting with representatives of the Republican Party, he allegedly said, jokingly, "I suspect I won't run again, unless you do something...unless you say: 'He's so good that we have to figure it out'."
During the presidential campaign, he told a group of conservative Christians that if they chose him, they wouldn't have to vote again.
What would Trump need to change the amendment?
In theory, it is virtually impossible to change an amendment like the 22nd. To start with, a two-thirds majority in the House and the Senate is needed to propose an amendment or for two-thirds of the states to call for a constitutional convention.
Republicans do not have any of those scenarios.
Furthermore, to ratify an amendment, the approval of three-quarters of the legislatures of each state is required.
Anyway, the Democrats are not taking the issue lightly and Representative Dan Goldman introduced a resolution to reaffirm that the 22nd Amendment applies to presidents serving non-consecutive terms. It is clearly established in the Constitution, but apparently the Democratic Party wants to prevent any surprises from Trump.