Below is my column in The Hill on the President stating that he is not joking about pursuing a third term. The statement lit up the media. However, it works better as a jump scare for liberals than a credible claim for the courts.
Here is the column:
The late Justice Antonin Scalia famously said that Congress does not “hide elephants in mouseholes.” His point was that courts are skeptical of using minor provisions in a statute to achieve sweeping new legal changes.
The challenge of stuffing an elephant into a mousehole came to mind this week after President Donald Trump said that he is “not joking” about considering a third term and that experts told him it is possible under the Constitution.
One often has to take such moments with a heavy dose of skepticism from a president who clearly relished handing snake-in-a-can soundbites to the media just to watch the resulting screams. If so, he was not disappointed. The media went into renewed vapors as commentators pronounced, yet again, the death of democracy.
However, given the president’s statement, it is important to be clear about the basis for this theory, which has long been something of a parlor game for law professors on how a president might be able to circumvent the two-term limitation imposed by the 22nd Amendment.
Let’s start with the language. Ratified in 1951, the amendment was passed ironically by Republicans who were reacting to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s decision to break from the tradition of two-term presidencies by seeking a third term. The intent was clear. They believed that serving more than two terms exposed the country to the danger of a politician occupying the office for life or prolonged periods.
To prevent that, the 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.”
Notably, the language includes those who were not necessarily elected to the office but “held” the office for more than two years (presumably through succession to the office due to a vacancy).
Few seriously doubt the intent of the amendment to prevent any person serving a third term to force a change of leadership in the nation.
That is when the mousehole comes in. The amendment refers to a person being “elected.” Thus, some advocates claim that the amendment does not prevent a president from “serving” a third term — only being “elected” to such a term.
This strained interpretation would mean that the drafters were solely aggrieved by the thought of someone running for the office and not serving in the office. There is no compelling historical support for that interpretation.
Under this interpretation, a two-term president could engineer a third term by running for vice president and having the elected president then resign after the inauguration.
The problem with this tactic is another amendment. The 12th amendment states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”
Trump could not run for vice president because he is ineligible to be president. Accordingly, he would likely be barred from many state ballots from running for vice president.
Yet, there is an even smaller mousehole. Trump could have two people run for president and vice president as stand-in officeholders while he could engineer his election as Speaker of the House of Representatives.
After the election, they could both resign and Trump would be third in the line of succession. Putting aside the considerable level of faith in both the president and vice president resigning, the maneuver would make a mockery of the constitutional design behind the amendments.
It would also make leading Republican candidates mockeries as types of “mini-mes” for Trump. Even the debate of such a maneuver before the election would demean figures like Vice President J.D. Vance as mere cutouts in a Constitutional sleight-of-hand.
The fueling of this talk also works in favor of those politicians and commentators who continue to claim that Trump is an autocrat committed to the destruction of the American democracy. It suggests that Trump is open to trashing constitutional traditions or language to achieve prolonged power.
In fairness to those advocating this theory, this is not an assault on democracy or a call for tyranny. It is an effort to use clever interpretations of the Constitution to allow for a third term. Voters would be aware of this maneuver when going to the polls (which is doubtful), and courts would have to uphold the interpretation (which is even more doubtful).
In the end, the powder is not worth the prize in raising this prospect. President Trump has carried off the political comeback of the century. His administration is set to make history with sweeping changes that continue to garner considerable support among the public. This claim will only undermine that legacy and the support needed to achieve it.
John Say posted: With respect to Tarrifs as taxes – even if that argument is true – so what ? Tarriffs are probably the most efficient form of taxation there is.
That’s an incredible statement to read from an alleged libertarian!
I find it sketchy when I’m being told by Trump spokesmen that the tariffs will be to “pay for the tax cuts”???? Along with statements that make it appear that tax cuts now result in Treasury getting LESS revenue than they did before tax cuts?
Tax cuts needing to be paid for due to Treasury collecting less revenue, is rhetoric/lies mostly heard from the Marxist Democrats, not Republicans. As many serious reasonable economists have pointed out, within living memory, tax cuts enacted under any president of either party have always resulted in MORE tax being collected due to increased economic activity resulting from the tax cuts leaving more money in voters pockets.
So why are Trump and his economist advisor Peter Navarro now telling his voters (and all Americans) that these necessary and overwhelmingly taxpayer supported tax cuts also need to be paid for some way or another by somebody within the consumer chain, including by these tariffs which will be paid for by American consumers?
Never mind Navarro’s Orwellian claim two days ago: the president’s sweeping round of tariffs on foreign goods shouldn’t be seen as an import tax but rather the biggest tax cut in American history. The message is that tariffs are tax cuts, tariffs are jobs, tariffs for national security, tariffs are great for America, tariffs will make America great again.
John, it appears that you and Navarro both believe that trillions of dollars (according to Trump and Navarro) in tariffs passed on to American voters as s necessary measure to pay to fund tax cuts is indeed the most efficient form of taxing Americans that Trump could think up!
Thomas Sowell – an actual principled libertarian who is far more libertarian (and more economically and fiscally conservative) than Trump and pretty much everybody else in the GOP fold – has a very different view. But then, he’s actually an economist, a very, very rational economist… not just a libertarian.
Dr. Sowell does not make flat out assertions of what the results will ultimately be, but he does point out real concerns, and not just concerning the immediate results, but potential results in the future, where they won’t be Trump’s problems to deal with. I have been reading Dr. Sowell’s papers and books (and those of his good friend and fellow economist Dr. Water Williams) for over 50 years.
Neither of them have ever been in the blind faith in results business. And both of them have a long record of generally being correct in what they write about.
Thomas Sowell on Trump’s Tariffs | Uncommon Knowledge
https://www.facebook.com/HooverInstStanford/videos/1393743185136269/
My 2 Cents – of Dr. Thomas Sowell – Trump is setting off a World Trade War because We have nothing left/else to offer.
We are in Debt (way in debt) with an unsound economy backed by unsound currency (Fiat),
We are fronting a Faux Intellectual Society (We are not only Brain-Drained but also Brain Dead),
and we are Politically Dead in the Water (Except for our Nukes and Consumption habit).
With no great paradigm shift on the horizon.
Trump is meddling with the forces of Macroeconomics (Tariffs), I’ll grant Sowell that, but he has little choice because we cannot keep kicking the can down the road as we have been.
Because doing that doesn’t pay off, it just burns time as the rest of the World passes us by.
“Sowell & Williams”
I am familiar with and respect the opinions of both of those esteemed gentlemen (Williams, btw, passed in 2020). I am also familiar with the economic and financial analyses of a host of other libertarian and quasi-libertarian (in other words, free market oriented) writers from Rand to Von Mises. However, their opinion of tariffs in a vacuum is meaningless at this point in time, considering the deficit/debt position of the US, and the feasible options for dealing with that. It is quite possible that the situation is absolutely impossible to resolve without a formal default somewhere down the road (and not far down it). Such an event would wreak far more havoc than an attempt to bully foreign cowards into reducing their own forms of protectionism and creating a financial and regulatory environment conducive to reviving production of hard goods in the US. That is what I believe Trump’s tariff end game is. It may not work, but at this juncture, attempting something radically different from the completely failed policies of the last few decades was totally justified, and Trump’s game qualifies under that definition.
However, their opinion of tariffs in a vacuum is meaningless at this point in time, considering the deficit/debt position of the US, and the feasible options for dealing with that.
“in a vacuum”????? You don’t seriously hope to propose that neither Dr. Sowell or Williams were writing (and in Sowell’s case, obviously still writing) about tariffs at a time BEFORE we were in a serious deficit/debt position?
You want to propose Dr. Sowell’s opinion and concerns about using tariffs to pick the winners and losers within the American economy was made in a vacuum, just a few days ago? As you are familiar with both the books and papers of both Sowell and Williams, when have either of them NOT regularly warned of the threat our national debt poses to our country?
Thomas Friedmann and his wife had very similar opinions of presidents and their governments believing that they could use tariffs to pick winners and losers within the American economy. And while both of them have been dead and gone for decades, they also specifically referenced bloated, debt ridden budgets and the exploding national debt.
We’ve been here for a while – the only difference is that it has never stopped getting worse under each successive president and congress.
Including, BTW, during Trump’s first term where he signed every single debt bloated spending bill put in front of him, whether by Republicans, Democrats, and both.
You wouldn’t propose that Trump signed all of those pork laden debt ridden bills because the opinion he formed that led to him signing those bills was also arrived at the same vacuum that Sowell and Williams came to their opinions?
“We’ve been here for a while – the only difference is that it has never stopped getting worse under each successive president and congress. ”
Yes, we have been “on that path” for quite a while (not “here”, because the current “here” progressively becomes a dramatically worse place to be at an ever accelerating pace), but that road plunges into a chasm shortly. The cycle needs to change – be broken somehow. Trump’s actions are nearly guaranteed to accomplish that cycle breaking. The result could be marked improvement; it could be an enormous crash, I think that the side of that fulcrum that we land on is at the moment very much up in the air. But, as it must, that cycle will be disrupted, and hopefully beyond the point of any possible quick resurrection by Democrats and Deep Statists. Perhaps you would care to propose your chosen solution to the debt/deficit problem – one that is politically feasible, and more likely to achieve its goals than what Trump in engaged in. Somehow, I doubt that you have anything plausible to offer. I also doubt that Sowell, as learned and respected an academic though he is, has any truly practical solution that could be instituted today, accomplish the goals, and not be overturned in 2 or 4 years, putting us right back on the precipitous downward path to insolvency. Sometimes when events come to a very bad pass, we may be forced to choose between very unattractive, even nominally unpalatable, remedies. I believe this is such a time.
No answer from the garrulous poser?
Why is Trump trolling those on the left into ranting over the possibility that he could get a 3rd Term ?
The answer to that is because the left is CLEARLY terrified of that.
They CLEARLY beleive it is possible.
The MOST important criteria for Trump to get a 3rd term is for Trump to be successful as president and to
be capable and popular in 2028.
All the constitutional parlor games do not matter at all if Trump fails in his 2nd term.
Democrats have absolutely no fear of a Trump 3rd term if as they claim his 2nd term is a massive disaster.
All the whigging out over a Trump 3rd term is a public admission by those ont he left that Trump is popular, and that he is likely to have a very successful 2nd term.
No one needs to worry about Trump serving a 3rd term if his 2nd term is a disaster.
By whigging out over a possible 3rd term that is never happening, you openly admit that you expect Trump to succeed and you beleive he will be poular enough in 2028 that people would want him as president again.
It’s a snake in can to aggravate.
“The new Reuters/Ipsos poll found that the president’s approval rating was 43 percent, representing a 2-point drop since the late March iteration of the survey. After Trump took office on Jan. 20, his approval rating stood at 47 percent.
In the latest poll, 37 percent of respondents approved of Trump’s handling of the economy and 30 percent approved of his approach to addressing the high cost of living in the country.
A majority of Americans, 52 percent, said that hiking tariffs on cars and auto parts will be detrimental to the people they are close with. A similar share of respondents said increasing tariffs across the board, as Trump announced he was doing on Wednesday, would make things worse, not better. Approximately a third of Republican and Republican-leaning voters said that tariffs would harm the economy, according to the poll.”
Meanwhile Trump has taken off for a long weekend of golfing in Florida.
Do you mean President Donald J. Trump, that President Donald J. Trump?
Gigenius just can’t stand LOSING…AGAIN, LOSING!
John Say postedThe answer to that is because the left is CLEARLY terrified of that.
So – CLEARLY – Trump has cleverly decided that providing the Democrats and Media with what looks like proof of their claims that he rejects the Constitution is what winning underwater 4D chess looks like!
And by giving them what looks like proof of what they’re currently claiming – again, CLEARLY – he also helps to continue keeping the votes of independents, undecided, and Democrats who voted for him in 2024! More time and political capitol invested in winning underwater 4D chess!
It’s a good thing that President Trump never makes a political misstep in what he says or posts!
Any explanations of that other winning threat? The one eight weeks ago, of promising Hamas terrorists he would unleash hell if all the hostages weren’t released by the weekend? Was that also cleverly done to troll and whig out the Democrats?
The MOST important criteria is the Constitution numbnuts.
Why has Obama been allowed three terms, two under his own name and one under the name of Blundering Biden?
Why was Obama allowed to attempt a fourth under Kamalala “Word Salad” Harris?
Answer: Because the Obama Coup D’etat in America continues and the holdover Obama staff, including Susan Rice et al., has never left Washington, D.C.
If ever there was anything un-American, anti-American, unconstitutional, treasonous, and inimical, it is Barack Hussein “Barry ‘I-Have-A-Statue-In-Jakarta’ Soetoro” Obama.
Obama must continue as the de facto president in order to perpetuate every facet and aspect of the invalid, illegitimate, illicit and wholly unconstitutional communist welfare state.
The entire communist American welfare state is unconstitutional including, but not limited to, admissions affirmative action, grade-inflation affirmative action, employment affirmative action, quotas, welfare, food stamps, minimum wage, rent control, social services, forced busing, public housing, utility subsidies, CRT, DEI, WIC, SNAP, TANF, HAMP, HARP, TARP, NPR, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Agriculture, Education, Labor, Energy, Obamacare, Social Security, Social Security Disability, Social Security Supplemental Income, Medicare, Medicaid, “Fair Housing” laws, “Non-Discrimination” laws, etc.
Article 1, Section 8, provides Congress the power to tax for ONLY debt, defense, and “general Welfare” – ALL or THE WHOLE WELL PROCEED through governmental provision of security and basic infrastructure – omitting and, thereby, excluding any power to tax for individual Welfare, specific Welfare, particular Welfare, favor or charity. The same Article enumerates and provides Congress the power to regulate ONLY the Value of money, Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian Tribes, and land and naval Forces.
Further, the 5th Amendment right to private property was initially qualified by the Framers and is, therefore, absolute, allowing no further qualification, and allowing ONLY the owner the power to “claim and exercise” dominion over private property.
Government exists, under the Constitution and Bill of Rights, to provide maximal freedom to individuals while government is severely limited and restricted to facilitating that maximal freedom of individuals through the provision of security and infrastructure.
The Necessary and Proper Clause is nothing more than a perfunctory redundancy for the purposes of clarification—a reinforcement of that which was previously codified—and may not be wielded to amend and impose separate acts that do not represent but alter the letter and spirit of the Founders and Framers.
Loved the phake Time Mag covers…
Sedition, Insurrection, Subversion, Treason
_______________________________________________
“We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”
– Barack Obama
___________________
“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
– The American Founders
Why are you on a computer right now instead of the special ed class you’re supposed to attend?
Prof. Turley,
Regarding who is “third-in-line to the Presidency,” since the 25th Amendment was adopted in 1967, the Speaker is no longer “third-in-line” (as had been established in the Succession Act of 1947). Now, unless both the President and Vice President die or are killed at the same time (or close enough together so that the provision of the 25th Amendment cannot be enacted), the new President appoints a new Vice President, who then becomes the next-in-line, rather than the Speaker. (This actually happened via V.P. Agnew resigning, Pres. Nixon appointing Ford as V.P., Pres. Nixon resigning, and Pres. Ford appointing V.P. Rockefeller, in 1973-74. Had the old system still been in-effect, Speak Carl Albert would have become President when Nixon resigned in August of 1974, as there would have been no V.P. after Agnew resigned.)
So your suggestion that Trump could get himself elected Speaker, so he could be “third-in-line,” etc., isn’t exactly correct.
Trump is not going to get a Third Term.
He is merely Trolling those on the left who are taking the bait.
Absolutely trying to concoct the means to accomplish this is a parlor game by constitutional lawyers.
All that said – I do have some problems with Turley’s analysis.
The legislature writes the laws. If they say “elected” – that is the law – we have far too many judged trying to determine what legislatures intended.
That is ONLY acceptable when what they said was NOT clear. Even then we should be seeking some clear expression of their intent – not guessing at it.
The law MUST be read narrowly with respect to govenrment powers, and broadly with respect to individual rights.
Nothing else works.
When the text of the law is clear – we go with the text.
When the amendment says “elected” that is the law.
I do not think my quible with respect to Turley’s argument changes anything – Trump is NOT going to serve a third term as president.
Ignoring the parlor games trick. Actually doing so requires a constitutional amendment. That is not happening.
Even people who support Trump and are incredibly happy with him as president are NOT looking for a third term.
It is time for the republican party to work towards a successor to Trump.
There are alot of contenders – many of whom Trump has appointed to his administration.
Trump’s 2nd Term is highly unusual – it is not a traditional lame duck.
The future leaders of the GOP in his administration are NOT losing interest in their jobs and focused on their next campaign.
They are focused on their jobs, in order to win the trust of Trump’s supporters, to position themselves for their next campaign.
I still sense hesitation on the Professor’s part regarding his party; that’s okay.
Most of us know that Trump was sideways trolling Obama, who DID have a third Term, no question remaining anymore. Had they just let Trump win, as I personally think he did, in 2020, this would all be over. Instead they unleashed hellfire on us, corruption this country has never seen. They can expect hellfire back, but on this side, with 100% transparency, which they are even more terrified of. That’s the root of it: the modern left hate that this is all happening out in the open for all to see.
When I now talk to my stalwart leftist friends, I tell them: ‘We do not particularly differ in our basic values. The only difference between you and I is that I no longer under any conditions trust the DNC, nor anyone associated with it.’.
James – the issue of Trust goes far beyond the DNC.
Majorities – often super majorities of people
Do not Trust the DNC
Do not Trust Democrats
Do not Trust the the MSM
Do not Trust the courts
Do not Trust the governjment
Do not Trust the “the experts”
Do not Trust the elites
All for very good reason.
I would also suggest that while the Woke progressive left is at best 15% of the country – they weild disproportionate power.
They control the Democratic party – and appear likely to into the near future despite the chaos within the democratic party.
And they DO NOT share basic values with the rest of us.
They do not even share a set of consistent non-contradictory values among themselves.
Their values are unhinged from any principles, and are arbitrary anc capricious.
Those on the left should themselves be deeply concerned because values they hold to be sacred at the moment could easily flip as perceptions of what is in the common interest change.
The entire “cultural revolution” related to sex, sexuality – that the left has “won” rests on a foundation of sand.
Small changes in “the common good could wipe it all out – the good and the bad.
And that threat is NOT from the right, but the left itself.
It is what happens when your values are not anchored to firm principles.
What is perceived as the common good is easily changed.
For most of my lifetime people have been fear mongered into beleiving that growing populations were a threat to humanity and the planet.
Today the greatest dangers are coming from population decline in much of the world.
It is increasingly true that the “common good” is served by more children not less.
If the common good determines public policy then the public policy of THE LEFT will return to the procreation focused values of the catholic church a century ago.
If procreation is in the common good, then homosexuality. birth control, abortion are all legitimate for government to ban or criminalize.
The left is not likely to jump there instantly – though China has gone from One Child to actively encouraging without success larger families.
Left European governments are increasingly subsidizing child birth. It is not a large step from there to criminalizing no procreative sexuality.
My point is that No the left does NOT share the same values as the rest of us.
Thank you John Say, Perfectly stated. I wish I could print this
Copy and paste the part you liked into Notepad and print. Just make sure you give appropriate recognition. If you’re using an APPLE product it’s all right, you’ve just spent too much money.
Turley laughingly believes Trump’s sweeping changes are garnering considerable support from the public as the stock markets crash & the US dollar tumbles in value. Trump’s RCP approval rating average is 47.6% with 49.8% disapproval, the lowest approval rating for any president 3 months after taking office. Just after Trump’s Inauguration, Rasmussen had Trump with 56% approval. They now have him with 49% approval.
While Turley ponders the logistics of a 3rd Trump term, the National Review editorial board issues a dire warning: “Americans Will Pay the Price for Reckless Tariffs…As a share of the economy, the executive order is likely the largest peacetime tax increase in U.S. history.”
Only in Turley’s bubble does that add up to garnering considerable support from the public.
@Anonymous
No, we laughingly scroll past your paid gaslighting. There are only 21% of you remaining. Those are not good odds. 🙄 In fact, that is what in some circles, is considered, a ‘tipping point’, far beyond it, in fact. But keep trolling, Anon. We all know who you are and what you represent. And, yes, we do laugh.
James, I don’t doubt you laugh as the stock markets crash wiping out trillions of dollars in investments, probably because you can’t afford to own any stocks. What’s really funny is that when inflation hit 9.1% in 2022, Biden hilariously insisted it was only temporary–and now with the stock markets crashing, Trump insists this is also only temporary. Keep on laughing, buddy.
ATS
DJIA
4/3/2024 39,127
4/3/2025 40,772
The stock market has the jitters, it may go lower,
it may go below where it was a year ago.
But absent disaster it will recover.
There is a false perception among many that the stock market drives the economy – that the stock market crash in 1929 caused the great depression.
There is almost no rational economist (or knowledgeable person) that buys that.
The 1929 stock market crash was caused by the Federal REserve keeping interest rates too low for too long, resulting in a massive over investment in factories primarily but to a lessor extent homes. The US had more productive capacity in 1929 than it could possibly consume.
The stock market crashed because investors came to the realization that they owned shares of companies who were producing more than people could possibly buy.
We had a similar problem in 2008 – where we had more housing than people were buying.
We do NOT have that circumstance today.
I do not expect tarriffs to last long.
Other countries are likely to cut their tarriffs.
And whether they do or not production has already been returning to the US for reasons having nothing to do with tarriffs
but that will accelrate as a consequence of tarriffs.
With respect to Tarrifs as taxes – even if that argument is true – so what ? Tarriffs are probably the most efficient form of taxation there is.
People have complete control of the taxes they pay – buy tarriffed goods and pay the tarriffs or buy something produced int he US and do not.
And that is precisely the point of Trump’s Tarriff’s.
Because people can chose what goods they buy Trump and any rational economist believes – correctly that people will buy goods that are not tarriffed – those made in the US.
If the tarriffs last long enough they will NOT significantly increase prices – they will increase the purchase of goods made in the US.
I doubt they will last long – because the countries we import goods from will be economically devasted if US consumers shift to the purchase of US goods.
Nearly all these tariffs are RECIPROCAL tariffs – any country in the world can on their own end US tariffs on their exports by ending tarrifs on good imported from the US.
All presidents have maximal approval as they are inaugureated.
Trump’s approval over the past 70 days has been between 50-53 % with no trend. If it is 49% today that is not a consequential change.
It may well drop as the short term consequences of Tarriffs take effect. The stock market also may be down for a while based on the short term impacts of tariffs.
Regardless there are only a few possible long term consequences of Trump’s Tarriffs.
Rising Government revenue. which in conjunction with spending cuts could balance the federal budget – this is actually unlikely.
A shift of production from Foreign countries to the US – resulting in significant increases in US production.
Alot of this will happen regardless.
Foreign countries cutting their tarriffs on US imports to avvoid US tarriffs of their exported goods.
This is the most likely scenario and will likely happen quickly.
The US is the largest market in the world. The economy of the world is dependent on its ability to export goods to US markets.
Small declines in US demand would be devastating to much of the world.
It is highly unlikely that these countries will allow US tarriffs to remain in place very long.
Shifts in consumer preferences are very hard to reverse once they start.
How about this route to a Third Term! Trump decides, in 2028, that he is actually a woman! He changes his name to Denise Trump, and argues that he is now a different person!
Wow, you’re auditioning to be a trump aide! That stellar insight will probably get you the job.
No Floyd is just poking fun at Woke idiocy.
Denise Trump would then be the first woman president.
Ahhh…, I know Floyd is just joking, Johnnie say…, which means your attempted explanations kestrel you the idiot…
Or did you think I was seriously suggesting he’s auditioning?
QUESTION: Can Term Limit measures be founded at the Local Level ?
For example:
1. (Starting at the Local Level)
A County Commission (Board) gets a Vote on the ballot, that of which the People approve (Voter Approval of the measure) , which instructs the Country Board of Elections to ‘De-List’ all Candidates that have served any Two Terms (consecutive or not), in any Governmental Office (Local, State, Federal) for that Region.
2. (Said proposal passes)
Board of Elections is authorized and mandated to ‘De-List’ all Candidates from the Ballot that have served Two-Terms as prescribed.
3. (Assuming the measure is adapted County-by-County and Statewide)
As the Elections have Candidate Ballot De-Listing Blackout per the measure thus eliminating Congressional Candidates from more than Two-Terms, Would this muster Constitutional Law?
Can Term Limit measures be founded at the Local Level ?
What Say Ye?
Constitutionally only the state legislatures and congress can make election laws.
“Constitutionally only the state legislatures and congress can make election laws.”
And only states have the power to conduct their own elections. Which makes this statement by Hakeem Jeffries threatening to sue Greg Abbott over delaying a Texas special elections for House of Representatives which Democrats are expected to win ludicrously stupid, even considering the source:
======================================================================================
Democrat House leader Jeffries threatens to sue Texas Gov Abbott over House seat special election
https://justthenews.com/government/congress/house-minority-leader-jeffries-threatens-sue-texas-gov-abbott-holding-special\
“Jeffries said that he believed Abbott was deliberately delaying holding the election.”
Someone explain to me how Jeffries could possibly establish standing for this action.
How sad for Turley to carry MAGA water. Whenever Trump says something outrageous that even most Republicans can’t defend, they default to something like: “he didn’t mean it–he just said that so he could laugh at the libs by upsetting them.” The US Presidency is not a stand up act or reality show Trump meant it. The US presidency is the ultimate ego trip for a sick narcissistic sociopath–power, adulation, pushing around other countries, firing better people than you on a whim, lying about everything, getting revenge on your perceived enemies and a get out of jail free card. If you adopt the MAGA thought process that surrogates could run for office and then step aside, then the entire Constitutional process for electing a President would cease to exist and we would have the monarchy our founders expressly rejected. On that point I agree with Turley—no president can serve more than 2 terms. Here’s where Turley gets pathetic by carrying the MAGA line: ” President Trump has carried off the political comeback of the century. His administration is set to make history with sweeping changes that continue to garner considerable support among the public. ” Uh, no, Turley. Trump LIED about bringing down the cost of groceries–THAT’s how he managed to get only a plurality of the votes cast–less than half, polls prove that and even he admits it. He also lied about Project 2025, which he is implementing, because polls proved that Americans did NOT want that. And, he has set a record for low poll numbers so early in a presidential term. The majority of Americans DO NOT support what he has been doing. So far, he has put us on a fast track to a major recession for no good reason. And, as for the “comeback” comment–Trump claims he really won in 2020–so, Turley, are you agreeing that he really lost and has been lying all of this time about his glorious “landslide victory” being stolen?
It is ironic how easily the professional trolls on this website can be so easily trolled by Trump. Trump has no intention to seek a third term. There is absolutely no support in the “regular” Republican Party for such a gambit, and Trump knows he cannot win anything without Party support. But Trump also loves to torture Dem nitwits, and will continue doing so until the end of his days.
No “professional” troll would use the foul language or redundant and distorted rhetoric that Giggie does. “She” ain’t nothin’ but a two-bit rejected on lashing out.
“Whenever Trump says something outrageous .. : “he didn’t mean it–he just said that so he could laugh at the libs by upsetting them.” ”
Trump’s supporters take him seriously but not literally
Trump’s detractor’s take him literally but not seriously.
Salena Zito 2016.
The remarks that Flip out left wing nuts like your self are NOT meaningless. But they are also not literal.
Those of you on the left take them literally but not seriously and whig out pretty much every time making fools of yourself.
Sen. Klobachar yesterday went into a rant over a Trump meme where Trump wore a golden crown.
Trump is not King, he is not seeking to be King, Trump supporters are not going to make him King.
But these memes flip out left wing nuts such as yourself and you then go to make fools of yourselves.
Trump owns space in your heads rent free.
You made the presidency into a Reality TV show – Trump is merely better at it than you are.
Does Trump dream about a third term – probably. We all dream about things that are not going to happen.
Many Trump supporters favorably imagine a third Trump term. That does not mean it will happen.
“surrogates could run for office and then step aside, then the entire Constitutional process for electing a President would cease to exist”
False, while this is just not going to happen. Even if it did, it would not cause the constitution to fall apart.
An outcome that you do not like is not the end of the world.
While it is little more than a legal parlor game – as Turley said to game how to get a 3rd Term, even if by some miracle it happened,
that would just be the constitution working as written.
John Say,
Great comment!
What does it do for the agenda Americans voted for in the 2024 election by Trump now deliberately antagonizing about possibly attempting to run for a third term? What does publicly making that threat to violate the 22nd Amendment get done? Other than aid Democrats and the Media who are already claiming President Trump is a lawless president who regularly acts unconstitutionally?
And BTW… what is it: almost eight weeks since Trump threatened Hamas that if they didn’t release all the remaining hostages, including those who are our fellow Americans, by the upcoming weekend, he would ensure that “all hell will break out”?
CNN, Tue January 7, 2025: Trump warns ‘all hell will break out’ if Gaza hostages aren’t released before his inauguration
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/07/politics/trump-warning-gaza-hostages-negotiations-inauguration/index.html
NYP, Feb. 10, 2025: Trump warns Hamas to free hostages by noon Saturday or he will ‘let hell break out’
https://nypost.com/2025/02/10/us-news/trump-warns-hamas-all-hell-is-going-to-break-loose-if-hostages-arent-freed-by-noon-saturday/
Trump did not rule out sending US troops to the region — telling reporters “we’ll see what happens” — and did not expand on what he meant by “all hell is going to break out.” “You’ll find out, and they’ll find out too. Hamas will find out what I mean,” he said, also without revealing whether he was referring to Israeli or US military force.
President Trump has too much spare time on his hands, rather than having more than enough on his plate to deal with?
The unemployment rate was at 6.4% on the day Biden took office….
It was at 4% on the day he left.
Today, it is at 4.1 %. The unemployment rate is heading back up and economic forecasts say trump’s tariff tax policy will have unemployment, minimally, at 7% in response.
Here, read this. The unemployment rate was NOT a result of Trump’s policies but was driven ENTIRELY by the COVID hoax that you and your treasonous party foisted on the American people. And don’t hand me the bullschiff that Trump started it. He was duped by Fauci and your treasonous fellow travelers into declaring that we need “two weeks” to stop the spread. Your democrat fellow travelers took full advantage of Trump’s efforts and used it to see how much control the sheeple in the blue states would accept. It worked, in the blue states.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/what-happened-to-the-economy-under-trump-before-covid-and-after-11602713077
Trump>>net loser of jobs in his first term. Well on his way to doing it again. Shut your pie hole, you’re just spreading covid.
Ah yes, once again you demonstrate your inability to discuss things rationally. By the way, insults are the hallmark of the weak intellect.
Net loss of jobs is a net loss of jobs. Know the only president who managed this before in recent history? GW Bush.
Trump doesn’t get a pass for Covid effects, especially when he mangled his response to it in so many ways.
“net loser of jobs ”
And how many of the jobs currently eliminated are overcompensated, under-worked (if they actually do anything at all) Federal drones?
Net loser of jobs. Full stop.
Pro tip…, arguing against job incompetence if you’re supporting someone who is actually competent…
And yes, in the job of being president, Biden is/was infinitely more competent than trump.
The Dow increased 36.3% during Biden’s term. It began at 31,188 and ended at 42,509 with a collection of all time highs along the way.
From Market Ticker:
Yes, stock prices are down this morning. Duh. Slavery is profitable for the slaver. If you want to know who’s been exploiting both the environment and humans overseas you need only look at who’s stock prices got hammered the most. Those entities, of course, are screwing you out of a reasonably-decent wage job, and now have a choice to make. If you recall I said quite-clearly that if Trump meant it stocks would compress in multiple and that compression might be rather-dramatic.
The rest of the article:
Perhaps the tariff order is the start of something good….
I can’t find a single thing to disagree with in that order — except that the schedule Trump was waving around was 50% of the tariffs the other nations put on us rather than 100% in many cases. If that’s a “ok guys, its exactly half, drop yours or it goes to all of it” — or even if all Trump did was compute on the trade imbalance rather than go line-by-line and item-by-item then that’s ok. I’ll defer judgment on this.
Further, we need a US content law for critical items — particularly pharmaceuticals. That requires Congress; yes, Trump could invoke the DPA (and legitimately so too) but this has to be a durable change as it involves people building plants with material requirements on time thus an E/O is not only the wrong way to address this it could be quite counter-productive.
Now manufacturers of various things sold into the United States have a tough choice to make — do they take the bet that this is a transient event and at worst goes away in 3-1/2 years, or do they bring the jobs and production back here to the US?
The second is of course what Trump wants and what we should all want.
Why?
Because it compresses the arms of the “K” in the economy. That is the common person here in America wins because he or she is the one putting together cars, performing mining and manufacturing instead of someone in a sweatshop making $5/day overseas.
This act by Trump today is a good thing.
A very good thing.
Yes, stock prices are down this morning. Duh. Slavery is profitable for the slaver. If you want to know who’s been exploiting both the environment and humans overseas you need only look at who’s stock prices got hammered the most. Those entities, of course, are screwing you out of a reasonably-decent wage job, and now have a choice to make. If you recall I said quite-clearly that if Trump meant it stocks would compress in multiple and that compression might be rather-dramatic.
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=253086
If you actually know markets you know you’re either on the right side of them or the wrong side…
You’re on the wrong side.
What did Singapore and their 0% tariffs and net trade deficit with the US do wrong to deserve these “reciprocal” tariffs?
“Perhaps the tariff order is the start of something good….”
To that point, here are a couple of contrarian and thought provoking takes on the history of tariffs in the US. The first is from ZeroHedge contributor David Pinsen (Portfolio Armor), and that cites a very interesting article (my 2nd link) from the Puffington Host from 2010, when that site still retained some slight pretensions to objectivity:
======================================================================
The Big Liberation Day Surprise by Porfolio Armor
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-04-03/big-liberation-day-surprise
“Let’s talk about why Trump isn’t the crazy one here, and then let’s address the market implications.”
————————————————————————————————————————————-
America Was Founded as a Protectionist Nation by Ian Fletcher
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/america-was-founded-as-a_b_713521
“It is, in fact, very easy to construct an impressive-sounding defense of free trade as a form of economic liberty on the basis of this myth. Unfortunately, this myth is just that: a myth, not real history. The reality is that all four of the four presidents on Mount Rushmore were protectionists. (Even the pseudo-libertarian Jefferson came around after the War of 1812.) Historically, protectionism has been, in fact, the real American Way.”
Great link to ZH!
Speculative stuff, for sure. But the markets gave their real time response today. And that’s even before other countries formally respond. If trump was an institutional trader at a big fund, he would’ve been fired a month ago….
Losing 3.2% on the Dow in 75 days is catastrophic. Lost 4% on the Spiders today alone. He’s the last person who should be in charge of fiscal policy and everyone on Wall St knows it.
“If trump was an institutional trader at a big fund, he would’ve been fired a month ago….”
If that fund was facing default, insolvency, and the litigious aftermath of those events, barring the success of the one (admittedly long shot) tactic remaining that had any chance for success, perhaps not… That IS the exact situation facing this country, and that IS what the BRICS consortium is intended to hasten, or haven’t you been paying any attention to anything outside of your TDS hallucinations?
We WEREN’T on the edge of bankruptcy…, but it seems taking his businesses there is what he knows best. And he seems determined to take us there.
Obama took Dementia Joe by the hand and gently lead him off the stage. Joe looked at him with teary eyes and said, thank you mister President for letting me be a small part in your third term. Barrack patted his hand with gentle compassion and responded, you’re a good boy Joe. Joe said, did you know Barrack that Kamala told me that she was so excited to be a part of your fourth term? Damn it Joe you spit on my hand. I’ve told you a million times to always carry a handkerchief. Dejectedly, Joey responded, yes your majesty god bless your upcoming fourth term in office. FDR did it!
Dow down 3.28% since trump took office.
Anonymous, all those Wall Street types with foreign investments are in a panic mode. To hell with America Trump is shaking out my wallet. Nancy Pelosi’s stock portfolio has been devastated and she’s selling off. One would think that a loyal leftist like you would be rejoicing because of the losses of the Wall Street fat cats with investments in China. Very strange. C’mon let it out. Just admit that your a bureaucrat and be done with it.
TIT:
Denial won’t put your money back after this. Enjoy the fall.
There is very few investments that are completely insulated from “foreign investment.” Outside of domestic real estate, maybe nothing.
So ?
There are only a few possible outcomes to these Tarriffs.
The most important factor is the overall strength of the US economy relative to the world economy.
Gigi has repeatedly said that the US economy is the best in the world – and in that claim she is correct.
That fact does not mean that Biden was not an economic disaster.
Indications are that the economics of most of the rest of the world are WEAK – much weaker than the US right now.
If those indications are correct – Trump will win this one way or another – and the US economy will boom shortly.
If those indications are wrong – this will prove to be a complete economic disaster, and Trump could be impeached and removed by his own party.
Do you want to bet on whether the world economy is stronger than the US economy ?
So ?
Are you a day trader ? If not why do you care ?
We are just into Tarriffs. We have not yet seen what the real results will be.
There are 3 possibilities:
US demand remains constant and revenue floods the Treasury – making tax cuts inevitable,
Moving the US govenrment to a more efficient tax regime.
This is highly unlikely
US demand for foreign products drops and US production of competing products rises.
This increases US GDP and increases US jobs and wages.
This not likely
US demand for foreign products drops and foreign countries drop their tarriffs on US goods to protect themselves from economic collapse as US demand drops. This results in increased foreign demand for US products.
This increases US GDP and increases US jobs and wages.
This is the most likely scenario.
Hello Johnnie say!!
Matter of fact, I trade at 3 levels: day, swing, as well as longer positioning….
And I’ve been here long enough to have seen your ideas about markets and economies to be perfectly suited to you losing money as a result.
As to why do I care?…hell, I’m taking advantage of the conditions trump is creating for his friends to profit just like they are right now. Trump is actively manipulating the markets now. By all rights he should go to jail for it. But I’ll follow the bread crumbs to profit off of it so that I can redirect resources back at him because trump is toxic and is in the process of setting the U.S. back decades. And ultimately, I just hate narcissists that have no qualms about hurting people consciously.
Although, I won’t lie, I enjoy seeing how susceptible you are to him.
Btw…while the #’s tell an awful story today, keep in mind that what trump really destroyed more than market cap is trust. There is no reason to invest in the U.S. or at least beyond the minimal. There is not a trustworthy U.S. government in place…
Also keep in mind we haven’t even seen the specific response from abroad to trump’s sheer idiocy yet. We’re in a recession going forward. Nothing fundamentally changed aside from trump’s tariff/import tax games. If trump just played golf and didn’t show up to work yesterday we’d be trillions richer…
But hey, honors students like you can finger pop your asses and look for the sun to come up in the west. Seems you’re pretty determined to do it.
Were you fired from your janitorial because you didn’t know how to flush toilets?
If it is Elvis, he is sitting in a locker room with deflated basket balls. He will know what I am talking about.
No one knows what you’re talking about, insane moron.
“No one knows what you’re talking about.”
Basketballs, an integral part of your earlier life, are round like the world, but unlike the healthy people surrounding you, your world and life are dried up and deflated. You will do nothing to change your situation.
Nah I was fired because I shoved your face in one after it wouldn’t flush. It was awesome.
Typical of a Wernicke-Korsakoff patient—lashing out at shadows, convinced they’re real.
I wouldn’t speak this way to someone grounded in reason or humility. But you’ve made yourself hateful. You’ve earned words as harsh as your own.
“Dow down 3.28% since Trump took office.”
This sudden drop in the stock market has more to do with those who buy and sell for a living and those who think they can beat the market. Brokers make a lot of money when stocks go down and then again when stocks go up. If a person who sold a stock was made ineligible to buy it back for a year or so, there would be less volatility because virtually all sellers and buyers understand that this drop doesn’t reflect the market’s true strength. The brokers know—ask them. This is little more than a game.
Such a delightful 1985 explanation, Allan. Stock market dropped, and will continue to drop, because putting money into it under trump with his tariff shakedown and import taxes is a super big risk now…
Granted what’s going on today is an arranged short opportunity for his friends. The market won’t respond the way he thinks it will on the other side. Today was a massively idiotic day for the U.S. No one will trust us with trump as president after this. They didn’t think he was stupid enough to actually announce these taxes rather than just use them for bargaining.., although I don’t know why they didn’t. He released idiots to crap in the Capitol after all.
And for what it’s worth, people trade digitally now and brokers don’t make the bulk of their money on commission anymore. Rules were loosened and they can actually trade against their clients now…, and since most people lose in the markets just doing that is a good risk for them…
But I can tell you’re a dinosaur…, buckle up, you’re going to take some big losses for a few years.
Yes, the stock market will continue to fluctuate, but the fundamentals of economics in 1985 were no different than they are today. The old “dinosaurs” will profit, just as savvy newcomers will. One clear indicator of trust in Trump’s words is that people listen intently until he finishes speaking. In contrast, when Biden spoke, even those nearby barely turned their heads.
They claim trillions were “lost” in the market. But if they were truly lost, they never existed in the first place. Where did the trillions go? Wealth is a function of perception, not physical reality. Consider Mar-a-Lago: a property worth hundreds of millions, yet a judge arbitrarily valued it at just $18 million. This underscores that much of what we call “value” is purely conceptual. Even dollar bills have no intrinsic worth beyond what people collectively agree upon.
For me, falling markets are buying opportunities. While others panic, I will keep investing. Meanwhile, you can sit in the locker room inflating deflated basketballs, mistaking busywork for strategy.
Headline: Dow nosedives nearly 1,700 points for worst day since 2020 as bloodbath wipes out $3.1 trillion after Trump’s reciprocal tariffs
No factories have disappeared, no money has been stolen or lost, and no significant changes have occurred in business—yet our marketplace is receiving an infusion of billions or even trillions of dollars.
Is this any different from a person who quits a $100,000 job and takes a new one at $250,000? His bank account may take a temporary hit, but in a reasonably short time, he’ll be flush.
Down another 1700 plus today. But hey…, keep up the winning, ayy?
I was significantly out of the market because it was overpriced. I am now gradually moving in. I do that whenever idiots like you provide me with their forecasts. That is how I make money in the stock market, real estate and everything else.
I started with some stocks that fell with the trend because they were not affected by the recession but are down because the market as a whole is. I will sell some of them if I need more money. What a stupid game because overvalued stocks will fall under their own weight, but overall, the future is excellent for everyone, so almost everyone can see gains as the American engines rev up.
Trump has trolled to stir up TDS sufferers!
He’s doing it for the fun of that and to not publicly acknowledge he is in a lame duck term, which empowers leftists to hamstring his plans like they did in his first term!
President Trump continues to live rent free in Democratic heads!
We need to make any successor to the POTUS subject to the “qualified” clause: Speaker, etc. I would not favor requiring any speaker etc. candidate to qualify also as a potential president, because that would exclude good people who may have emigrated and then naturalized from becoming Speaker. Likewise the age requirement. We need to just skip any person unqualified for Pres. and just take the next in line. Who is that? The president of the Senate? Or whoever. Trump has to be confinced to step aside from this madness. Use the time he has. The chance of success is enhanced by his disability under the 22nd Amendment. A lame duck can kick higher, freed of any suspicion of self interest. Bill Hill
We do not NEED to do anything.
Trump is trolling you.
There may be an incredibly difficult route to a Trump 3rd Term.
It is highly unlikely that Trump will try and that if he does he will succeed.
But if by some miracle he pulls it off – that would REQUIRE his 2nd term to be one of the most successful of all presidents in US history.
If Trump pulls all of that off – then fine Trump can have a 3rd term.
I am not going to bet on it.
But I am certainly not going to rewrite the constitution to prevent something that is nearly impossible, and can only occur if a president is massively successful.
“that would exclude good people who may have emigrated and then naturalized from becoming Speaker.”
Do you even know the difference between “immigration” and “emigration”? Reasonable familiarity with the English language should be a “qualification” for posting here… And yes, I know that someone who immigrated TO the US emigrated FROM somewhere else, but hopefully that excuse is too lame for even you…
Trump is not joking or trolling. He really wants a third term and he will shred the Constitution to get it. Anyone who supports him is a fascist, and I don’t mean that as an insult, I mean it as Trump fits the technical definition of a fascist. If you are a MAGA with any sense left that should make pause and thing for a moment.
TDS is treatable. Please seek psychiatric help ASAP.
Franke, if Trump is going to shred the Constitution he’ll have to borrow the shredder from dementia Joe Biden. Let’s see. 1st Amendment to the constitution was rescued from the jaws of the shredder. If Trump is who you say he is he would be talking about free speech being a hindrance to his plans and therefore should be curtailed post haste. Oh wait!! It has been Joe Biden and his merry band who have called for the shredding of the 1st Amendment while the pretty sheep like you hurry to stand at the shearing block bleating Truuuump, Truuuump, Truuuump.
Franke, so you don’t mean calling people fascist as an insult. You equate us with a man who slaughtered millions of people and you say it’s not an insult. My recommendation is that you read a high school text book on world history. You do read right?
Anyone who supports him is a fascist, and I don’t mean that as an insult
I thought The Oval Office House Plant you to call Trump voters Nazis?
Franke, only somebody with a well earned reputation of being a vicious lying communist who will post anything would put up a post like that.
And I don’t mean that as an insult – that’s just an observation of the facts and complete lack of credibility that you have earned here.
“Trump is not joking or trolling. He really wants a third term and he will shred the Constitution to get it.”
Lets assume you are correct.
The #1 REQUIREMENT for a Trump 3rd term is for Trump to succeed greatly in his 2nd.
There is no possible means for Trump to serve a 3rd Term that works if Trump fails and a Democrat is elected in 2028.
One of the reasons that those of you on the left are fearful of a 3rd Trump term is because Trump has overcome every single obstacle you have put in the path to his 2nd Term.
You have tried everything – election fraud, lawfare, censorship, a plethora of indictments, shrill accusations of fascism, predictions of the end of democracy, the end of the world.
Those of you on the left are absolutely terrified that there is NOTHING that you can do to stop Trump.
But there has ALWAYS been one thing that will stop Trump – Failure.
The lunatic fears of the left that Trump could get a 3rd Term is an open admission that he will succeed and there is nothing that the left can do to stop him.
Trump can shake up the Democrats simply by smiling. The Dems suffer an addiction (TDS) they know will not help, but they cannot change their behavior. Their dancing looks juvenile while their cursing makes them look like rebellious teenagers. They’re losing their NGO sinecures. Their former leader (Nancy) turned them into a troupe of dancing monkeys, and that’s all they can do. They are “All shook up.”
How about this: Trump resigns from office the day after swearing in the mid-term Congress. That would give JD the job and prevent a lame-duck presidency. It would also give JD a chance at ten years in the Oval Office, the second-longest serving Presidency.
I think the circumstances of President Trump’s departure would be critical to public acceptance, but if the GOP could pull it off, it would be fun watching liberals chew on the carpets for ten years.
It would also be President Trump’s ultimate revenge on his enemies.
You clearly lack smarts and knowledge of constitutional law. And ethics.
You are a hatemonger.
😆
Diogenes, Trump would never relinquish control to JD due to strategy. He wouldn’t trust JD after the Signal fiasco showed they don’t align on key issues.
Trust him? How can you possibly know that?
Trump doesn’t trust anyone who runs counter to his ideas. Haven’t you noticed. He suddently develops amnesia whenever someone crosses him or criticizes him.
Anonymous, once again you suffer from selective amnesia. Sine you fail to recall that Joe Biden on more than one occasion blew up at reporters who asked him a question he didn’t like. What was it that he said? Oh yea. “You’re a bunch of dog faced pony soldiers.” Remember that!
Trump trusts JD A LOT MORE than Biden ever trusted Harris. Biden wanted her to lose so he could get revenge on the Party. The Biden Whitehouse was like an episode of Succession.