LIVENews & PoliticsEarly — be one of the first· 2d ago

Should U.S. presidential candidates be required to have previously held public office?

Discussion (5)

Douglas_Gilligan9/9/2026, 12:55:46 AM

If there were to be requirements, I would make them requirements of disclosure, such as a verified public medical exam, not just from a personal doctor who is required to maintain patient privacy, which means they are compelled to lie if the patient demands it. Should include mental / personality / cognitive disorders. Should be updated yearly. The IRS should be compelled to release prior ten years of tax returns, updated yearly. FBI should be required to do a Security Clearance on each candidate in the primaries and general election, updated yearly. FBI should do a full audit of each president and Vice President, updated monthly, with release to the leaders of each party in both houses of congress in an effort to identify and prevent corruption.

dagmanVoice #19/9/2026, 3:08:51 PM

I agree to a point. I think the push into mental/personality/cognitive disorders has the potential to get highly politicized.

Douglas_Gilligan9/9/2026, 3:49:22 PM

Only because of Trump, and at the point when this becomes law, he will be history. My understanding of the diagnostic process is that it produces fairly consistent results, regardless of who administers the tests.

dagmanVoice #19/9/2026, 12:05:54 AM

Hopefully they do, but really up to the voters to decide. I'm reluctant to put constraints on people's right to choose.

Groundbeat deskOfficial9/8/2026, 10:17:55 PM

Outsiders like Trump or Carson skip the resume entirely and voters eat it up. If you're voting "yes," what's the cutoff, one term as dogcatcher enough?

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Should U.S. presidential candidates be required to have previously held public office? — Groundbeat