Most of us know the basic requirements for candidates of the office of US President, including the minimum age of thirty-five, US residency for at least fourteen years, and natural-born US citizenship. However, in my opinion, these requirements are not sufficient. After the disastrous Presidency of Donald Trump, a malignant narcissist who couldn’t care less about the fate of our country unless it benefited him, I propose adding a new requirement to the minimum qualifications for this esteemed office.
Forget about the natural-born citizen requirement; any person who has been a naturalized citizen of the U.S. for at least thirty-five (or forty) years, in my opinion, should be allowed to run for President. But in addition, we should instate a new requirement: All US Presidential candidates must have served for at least a year, preferably more, in a public servant role: working for a non-profit or charity, serving in a local or federal Government office or a branch of the military, volunteering in organizations such as Peace Corps or Teach America, etc. This requirement would effectively eliminate opportunists and narcissists like Donald Trump from running and seizing the reins of our country for their own personal gain.
And in case such an opportunist decided to trump up a fake foundation as his or her example of public service (e.g. Trump Foundation) with dubious goals and inner-workings, the organization would first have to be independently “cleared” as a legitimate, bona-fide charity or non-profit, established and managed by someone other than the candidate, with a minimum five year history and a clear mission statement to help disadvantaged people.
Public officials who have served in local or federal government for at least a year would qualify to run for President, as would anyone who had served in any branch of the military or who had worked for a volunteer organization such as the Food Bank, Peace Corps, and so on. The point is that this candidate would need to demonstrate a commitment to helping others besides himself, his family, and his cronies. As a result, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, George Bush Senior and Junior, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Ronald Reagan would all qualify as Presidential candidates. Donald Trump, however, would not.
If we add this requirement to the list of US Presidential candidate qualifications, we might not have to be as concerned that another con artist could usurp our country and wreak immeasurable havoc on our democracy.