Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The amendment prohibits any individual who has been elected president twice from being elected again. Under the amendment, an individual who fills an unexpired presidential term lasting greater than two years is also prohibited from winning election as president more than once. Scholars debate whether the amendment prohibits affected individuals from succeeding to the presidency under any circumstances or whether it only applies to presidential elections.
Barack Obama's farewell address
In the 2016 presidential election, Obama was ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to the restrictions of the Twenty-second Amendment. In June 2016, Obama endorsed his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, to succeed him as president. He addressed the 2016 Democratic National Convention on July 27 in support of Clinton as the Democratic Party's nominee, and continued to campaign for her throughout the 2016 general election campaign season. However, Hillary Clinton would unexpectedly lose the general election to Republican nominee Donald Trump on November 8, after failing to receive enough votes in the Electoral College, despite receiving a plurality of the national popular vote. The Democratic Party would no longer control the presidency once Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2017, and they did not have a majority of seats in either chamber of the United States Congress, and in the state legislatures and governorships. President Obama's approval ratings were nearly at 60 percent at the time of his farewell speech.