According to the American constitution, former US President and Republican Party candidate Donald Trump, if he wins the November 5, 2024 US election, will not be able to run for the highest state office again in 2028.
The document establishes a provision that the presidential term of office is four years. According to the 22nd amendment to the constitution adopted in 1951, the same person can be elected head of state no more than two times – no matter whether in a row or with a break.
Initially, the Constitution did not limit the number of presidential terms. Most American leaders followed the unwritten rule, following the example of the country’s first president, George Washington, who served two terms. Only Franklin Roosevelt was elected to a third (1940) and then a fourth term (1944) and served more than 12 years (he died in 1945).
Two other presidents, Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) and Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), unsuccessfully sought third terms. The only US president to serve two terms with a break and, accordingly, receive a double numbering in the list of presidents, was Grover Cleveland (22nd and 24th president in 1885-1889 and 1893-1897).
After the final vote count, Cleveland’s achievement will likely be repeated by Donald Trump, who will become the 45th and 47th head of state. He was previously in power from 2017 to 2021. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden.
