If a President is impeached by the house but not convicted by the Senate, does this affect term limits. There is rumor that the first term would be nullified and the person could run for two more terms under the above conditions.
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6Can Gov. Huckabee be considered a source for the claim? We shouldn't just dismiss the question out of hand. twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/1205211276005101568 independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/…– SidneyCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 19:34
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1@Sidney I agree completely. Huckabee is also a prominent politician and is connected to the Trump administration by way of his daughter's former employment there. Even if the idea is crazy it is more than just a "rumor" given who is talking about it on prime time television, so the question should not be treated as silly.– JoeCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 21:06
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3@Sidney I didn't ask to close or dismiss the question, I asked for a link to the source so that we could see the evidence or argument made in support of the view. Huckabee provides no details in the links you provide, leaving us only with the 22nd Amendment, which clearly and unambiguously shoots down this nonsense. Again, if being impeached but not convicted were a loophole, Bill Clinton would have considered a third term, but he did not, despite an approval rating that would have easily supported an additional term if one were possible.– cpcodesCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 23:19
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1My cousin posted a meme to this effect on Facebook, so it's out there and circulating.– PoloHoleSetCommented Jan 2, 2020 at 16:30
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@Sidney No, Mike Huckabee is not a reliable source at all. He is routinely a source of political lies. politifact.com/personalities/mike-huckabee Not to mention that this theory is completely baseless, and he himself requires an underlying source, unless he IS the Constitution.– JohnCommented Jan 3, 2020 at 1:08
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1 Answer
There is no reason to believe this rumor, the 22nd Amendment states the following.
22ND AMENDMENT
Two-Term Limit on Presidency Passed by Congress March 21, 1947. Ratified February 27, 1951Section 1 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 President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
Section 2 This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States within seven years from the date of its submission to the States by the Congress.
There are no conditions set to limit the president's two terms other than being in office at the time of the creation of the amendment.
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2You should also point out that the tweet was a "joke" by Huckabee's own admission (truthorfiction.com/mike-huckabee-sean-hannity-and-trump-2024), and a terrible one at that (assuming, of course, that Huckabee is the OP's source for this rumor). Honestly, it's sad that we've reached a point in politics where you can't be sure something is a "joke" because it is equally (or even more) likely that the person telling it is idiot enough to earnestly say something that preposterous. Apologies to Hanlon, but never attribute to humor that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.– cpcodesCommented Dec 19, 2019 at 23:25
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1Hello @cpcodes, thanks for the feedback. Humor or not, for people who are less informed, things like that can be misleading. Anyway, I tried to answer without passing judgement. I think we can make a positive contribution here at StackExchange if we can help others become more informed, no matter where they start from. Commented Dec 23, 2019 at 19:13
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What I find funny is that the joke was supposed to be at the Democrats expense, but it seems to have taken in more Trump/Huckabee supporters than detractors. But political commentary aside, my comment was merely to point out that there is an answer to the OP's question direct from the horses mouth that I think would improve your answer, which is a great one from the angle of WHY it shouldn't work, but still doesn't address whether the rumor had any veracity (i.e. if the source believed it, or had found some loophole, or was expecting a coup, etc). Use it if you like.– cpcodesCommented Dec 23, 2019 at 22:22