U.S. President-elect Donald Trump speaks with former U.S. President Barack Obama during the state funeral for former U.S. President Jimmy Carter at Washington National Cathedral on January 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden declared today a national day of mourning for Carter, the 39th President of the United States, who died at the age of 100 on December 29, 2024 at his home in Plains, Georgia.
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

‘They are so scared’: MAGAs who want Trump’s third term hypothetically block a beloved president’s return to office

It’s no secret that conservatives have developed a disdain for the democratic institutions that make up the United States. This has been proven by a new ludicrous attempt by Republican lawmakers to allow Donald Trump to run for a third term in 2028.

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The absurd proposal is yet another hefty slice of evidence that MAGA is desperate to have an unelected king rather than a leader. The cult-like nature of the movement, combined with the inherent anti-intellectualism present in their platform, is dangerous territory for the United States, with many drawing parallels between Trump’s rhetoric and authoritarian regimes throughout history.

Presidential term limits of two terms were decided by the 22nd amendment to the constitution, as a reaction to Franklin D. Roosevelt being elected for an unprecedented fourth term in 1945. Roosevelt famously died in office, just a year into his fourth term. This is the first time since then that the notion of an American president getting an extra term has been discussed with any veneer of seriousness, although describing anything most Republican politicians do as serious is a bit of stretch. The problem is, jesters and fools can be dangerous.

This disdain for Democratic norms, egregious as it is, still manages to somehow be worse than one would expect. The proposal was put forward by Congressman Andy Ogles, who represents Tennessee’s 5th Congressional district, and specifically bars presidents who have been “elected for two consecutive terms” from running for a third one. We wonder who that was aimed at?

Ogles is a particularly regressive Republican, coming out strongly against abortion rights, gay marriage, and funding for education. Like many Trump sycophants who cannot think for themselves, he has also disputed the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and has loudly voiced numerous anti-intellectual opinions around climate change, arguing in a House debate that because temperatures dropped when he went trick-or-treating with his children, it meant there was no climate emergency.

Ogles has also signed a pledge that asks for an amendment to term limits for representatives. He has not commented on the hypocrisy of his position.

The additional clause in his proposal that seems to be aimed at Obama continues the right-wing obsession with the former Democratic president. A large part of the extremism that is now considered normal in the Republican party was in reaction to Obama’s election, and is undoubtedly as a result of his skin colour. Even with the fear mongering that surrounds Obama in conservative circles, he still left office with one of the highest approval ratings for an outgoing president, and remains a respected figure on the international stage today. Not quite the same as failed casino owner Trump, who was recently said to have left British civil servants in politicians in “tears of laughter” after a phone call. And it wasn’t because of his sense of humor.

Prior to the 22nd amendment, many presidents discussed the problems that could arise from a lack of term limits, most notably Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, one of the primary authors of the Declaration of Independence, once described the problem with a lack of term limits being that the office of president would “degenerate into an inheritance.”

This won’t be the first time MAGA ideology goes against what they supposedly stand for, and certainly isn’t going to be the last, either. Hopefully, this will be yet another failed measure by Trump and his patsies.


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