Proposal to change 22nd Amendment wouldn't grant Obama third term | Fact check
The claim: Proposed constitutional amendment would allow Obama to run for third term
A Jan. 23 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims President Donald Trump's allies proposed legislation that would change the term limit for all living presidents.
"So MAGA now wants to allow presidents to have a 3rd term?" the post reads. "One small problem with that. It would allow ANYONE to run for a 3rd term. Including – Barack Obama."
The post was shared more than 1,000 times in five days. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook, Instagram and Threads.
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Our rating: False
The proposed constitutional amendment would prevent presidents who served two consecutive terms, including former President Barack Obama, from being elected a third time. The amendment would only allow presidents who served nonconsecutive terms, like Trump, to be elected a third time.
Proposed amendment would exclude Obama
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles introduced a House joint resolution on Jan. 23 that would "allow Trump to serve a third term," according to the representative's press release. The resolution would amend the 22nd Amendment, which limits presidents to two terms.
But the resolution includes language excluding presidents who served consecutive terms from being elected a third time. That rules out Obama, who served as president from 2009-2017, as well as Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
"No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms," part of the resolution reads.
Trump is the only living president who has served two nonconsecutive terms. Only one previous president, Grover Cleveland, did the same, from 1885-1889 and 1893-1897.
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The joint resolution would need to be passed by two-thirds of the House and Senate and be ratified by three-fourths of states to become law.
Paste BN reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources
- Andy Ogles, Jan. 23, Rep. Ogles Proposes Amending the 22nd Amendment to Allow Trump to Serve a Third Term
- Andy Ogles, Jan. 13, H. J. Res.
- House of Representatives, accessed Jan. 28, Bills & Resolutions
- Congress.gov, accessed Jan. 28, Twenty-Second Amendment
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