Hypothetical Question - 2024 Elections

Okay, so I'd like to get some thoughts on this...

Two consecutive terms as president means that president is no longer eligible to be president. We all agree on this.

There are only (2) living former presidents who would qualify for a 2nd Term...Trump, and Carter. Obama, Bush Jr. and Clinton are all out. All the rest are dead. However, there is no prohibition on any president becoming Vice President, regardless of how many terms they served as President.

So...what would happen if Kamala Harris picked Obama as VP, and then resigned following her election and inauguration? This would make Obama President (for a 3rd term, even though he didn't run for election). To the best of my knowledge, this scenario is not addressed by the Constitution.

What would prevent this from happening?

Please discuss.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

In Case of the Removal of the President from Office, or of his Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President, and the Congress may by law provide for the Case of Removal, Death, Resignation or Inability, both of the President and Vice President, declaring what Officer shall then act as President, and such Officer shall act accordingly, until the Disability be removed, or a President shall be elected.

Article II, Section I

Technically, I suppose should the VP would only be acting POTUS.

Also this:

Twenty-Second Amendment
Section 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 the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President when this Article was proposed by the 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.

What would prevent this from happening?

How desperate is the deep state to get Obama back? Being born in Kenya did not stop him getting in first time. With how twisted the law has become with the recent Trump case, the system has lost touch with what is lawful when it comes to politics.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

As the term limit is not 8 years but actually 10 years, being a serving vice president is already figured into the limit. He could not run as vice president because he has 8 years already. Should anything happen to the president before 2 years are up, he would be breaking the law.

Then again, he is a Democrat and a lot of laws don't seem to apply because of that.

a reply to: JinMI

I'm aware of both of those articles (acutely), and this is precisely why I asked the question I did. Read them carefully; the scenario I described is not covered explicitly.

What this means is, it would take a Constitutional challenge to the SCOTUS to clarify (or so it seems, hence my question).

a reply to: BeyondKnowledge3

He could not run as vice president because he has 8 years already.

If you read the articles carefully, you will see this is not a true statement. Yes, it applies to the president, but it does not prohibit a former president from being a vice presidential candidate.

a reply to: kwaka

Oh, absolutely no argument there at all!!

BUT, they very much ARE just that desperate right now, which is my point.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I believe he would not be allowed to assume the role of President.

It would fall to the Speaker.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
there is no prohibition on any president becoming Vice President, regardless of how many terms they served as President.

I dunno ...

The VPOTUS has to be eligible to become POTUS in a moments notice. If VPOTUS was already a two term POTUS, they can't do the job.

So I"m not sure about that ....

If Obama runs as VP, the court challenges would come AFTER the elections and IF he would be the "VP Elect". 😃

a reply to: xuenchen

Right, this would be my suspicion, but what's the recourse? And, where is this spelled out? (not anywhere I can find, which is why I said unprecedented in the other thread).

I suspect what would happen (in the end) would be the VP come President elect would be forced to nominate someone besides himself. This would clear the way for him to nominate someone without the election process. And the process from there would be skip right to the presidential approval, inauguration and swearing in process...completely cutting "The People" out of the process. So, this could wind up being even worse.

I think its all moot these days.
Obama is currently in his 3rd term in reality and 4th if you include the shadow govt he ran from Washington with many of his loyal subjects in the Trump's executive branch.
If Biden wins, Obama will be entering his 4th/5th term as President.

What's the betting on a tragic Marine One 🚁 accident?

I have a sneaky suspicion that Obama knows the plan.

His half heart post about supporting Joe was not
persuasive, in fact he has always been lack luster
when it came to supporting' ole Joe. That said,
I don't know what is in his devious mind now.

There are bad feelings between Michelle and Jill.

Obama seemed to be half in love with Kamala, much
to Mike Michelle's disdain. So...
I would imagine there is a polar breeze between
Kamala and Michelle.

And we know Obama hates Trump. Soooo
what could possibly be Obama's angle to
get another term?

I guess my mind is not devious enough to
get a firm answer ......

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I think this may be one instance where down-ballot elections are important. This situation could take years to play out in the courts but swift attention to this situation would have to be addressed by Congress. Even then, it all rests on which party controls the House and Senate. If they are republican lead, it would be addressed very rapidly but if democratically controlled, the question will never be addressed and baracks 4th term, though contested and embroiled in turmoil, will continue for at least 2 more years.

So, I'm gathering from all these answers (so far), that no one has an answer to my question in the OP...just like I didn't.

What prevents this from happening?

Point to the document, the legal paper which defines, exactly, why what I have laid out is impossible.

I don't mean this as an argument, I honestly ask this question in hopes someone, anyone, has an answer which shuts this argument down, irrefutably.

Someone?...Anyone?...Bueller???

Great question, the only thing i can find is this article here

Two Time President VP

In fact, the relevant constitutional provisions, their histories, and their purposes all point to the same conclusion: A twice-before-elected President may become Vice-President either through appointment or through election and — like any other Vice-President — may thereafter succeed from that office to the Presidency for the full remainder of the pending term.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

....completely cutting "The People" out of the process. So, this could wind up being even worse...

IOW the 'continuity-of-government' action would negate any POTUS 'Powers' to a 'acting POTUS' such as Obama

a reply to: StudioNada

Not entirely sure I understand your statement; the continuity of government language ensures the presidential powers do not get negated, for any reason. So, a legally 'acting' president would have the same powers as an elected president, regardless of the mechanism which promoted the person (VP or whomever) to the position of 'acting'.

The point I was making in the part you quoted was...in the odd event that Harris was elected and Obama was the VP and then Harris resigned, even if Obama wasn't allowed to ascend to the presidency and instead forced to nominate someone else, this would bypass the electoral process, and thus "The People" would be cut out of the process (i.e. they didn't elect the person nominated).

I'm not sure if you were asking a question, or making a statement. Either way I hope I cleared up any misunderstanding.

so if we got Harris - Obama, would Obama move in and run the country? would Kamala be okay with that or try to assert herself?

some years ago George Wallace was ineligible to run for Governor and had his wife run instead. He ran the state of course. by all accounts she was fine with that.