The Cycle of Twelve

    The latest cycle in the power of twelve began in 2016, when Donald Trump was first elected president.

    He lost re-election in 2020, but regained the office for a second term in 2024. eight years after his first campaign. But the Constitution prohibits a third term, specifying that a president can only be elected twice, for a total of eight years.

   It's possible that a vice president can serve as president for up to two years, then seek election to the Oval Office on his or her own for two full terms, thus enabling a total of 10 years as president.

   But a third full term, totaling 12 years, is right out. Granted, FDR served 12 years, from 1933 to 1945, when the office passed to Harry Truman. Republicans then sponsored a Constitutional amendment limiting a White House office to two elected terms.

   This is what prohibits Donald Trump from serving a third terms. He may indeed seek a third term, but unless he suspends the Constitution, he cannot.