For many people, news that Donald Trump has won a second term as President of the United States is incredibly alarming. As such, people want to know whether Trump can run again in four years time.
Following a tense election which was previously seen as too close to call, Trump declared victory at his watch party in Florida, where he was joined by his wife Melania Trump, his future vice president JD Vance and his daughter Ivanka Trump. He defeated the Democratic nominee Kamala Harris and won more than 70,654,683 votes.
While Trump said he would not run again in 2028 if he lost the election, he did not lay out a plan for what he would do if he won.
Well, in theory the choice has been taken out of his hands. The 22nd Amendment to the United States Constitution limits the number of terms a US president can serve to two four-year terms. Therefore, because Trump already served a four-year term between 2016 and 2020, he will not be eligible to run again in 2028.
Not only that, but Trump will be 82 years old by the time his next term ends. President Joe Biden, who stepped down from the Democratic race in July due to widespread concerns around his capabilities, is currently 81 years old.
Can Trump change the constitution to run for another term?
It is not beyond the realms of possibility that Trump would try to change the 22nd amendment to allow for a third term in office. However, it would need to be ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the states within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
In the 1940 and 1944 presidential elections, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the only president to run for (and win) third and fourth terms, giving rise to concerns about a president serving unlimited terms. However, the 22nd amendment was ratified and came into force in 1951 to limit any future president's unchecked political power.
As CNN reported in December 2023, a Trump victory means 'the entire constitutional premise of US governance could be on the line'. Reporter Stephen Collinson added, 'It is already clear that a second term would risk destroying the principle that presidents do not hold monarchical power.'
We have already seen this happen in Russia, where President Vladimir Putin was permitted two more consecutive terms without regard for his previous tenure. The 2020 constitutional amendment gave him legal authority to stay in office until 2036.
What as Trump said about winning?
Trump delivered a victory speech at his watch party in Florida before the final votes had been counted. He said, 'I want to thank the American people for the extraordinary honour of being elected your 47th president and your 45th president.'
He claims he won the popular vote and is on course to win a majority against his opponent Kamala Harris. Trump added, 'America has given us an unprecedented and powerful mandate.' His vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Trump has pulled off 'the greatest political comeback in American history.'
Nikki Peach is a writer at Grazia UK, working across pop culture, TV and news. She has also written for the i, i-D and the New Statesman Media Group and covers all things TV for Grazia.