It’s unfortunate I can’t run, but we’ll see what happens, Trump said about unconstitutional third term | Donald Trump
Donald Trump said it’s “too bad” he’s not allowed to run for a third term, acknowledging the constitutional reality even as he expressed interest in continuing to serve.
“If you read it, it’s very clear,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One from Japan to South Korea on Wednesday. “I’m not allowed to run. It’s too bad.”
The president’s comments, continuing his frequent musings about a third term, came a day after House Speaker Mike Johnson said it would be impossible for Trump to remain in the White House. “I don’t see a path to that,” the Republican told reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday.
Johnson, who built his career by cozying up to Trump, said he discussed the issue with the president and thought he understood. “He and I talked about the limitations imposed by the Constitution,” he said.
The speaker described how the Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution does not allow for a third presidential term, and that changing that with a new amendment would be a cumbersome process that would take many years to gain the support of both states and members of Congress.
Johnson dismissed concerns about a possible third term as a “hair on fire” by the president’s critics. “He had a good time at it, trolling Democrats,” Johnson said.
Trump stopped short of describing his conversation with Johnson, and his description of the ban on third conditions was somewhat less specific.
“Based on what I’ve read, I think I’m not allowed to run,” he said Wednesday. “So we’ll see what happens.”
Trump has repeatedly raised the idea of trying to stay in power. “Trump 2028” hats are being given out as souvenirs to lawmakers and others who visit the White House, and Trump’s 2016 campaign manager, Steve Bannon, has revived the idea of a third Trump term.
“I would love to do that,” Trump told reporters Monday aboard Air Force One.
He went on to say that the Republican Party has a “great group of people” for the upcoming presidential election, namely Marco Rubio, the secretary of state who was traveling with him, and J.D. Vance, the vice president who visited senators at the Capitol on Tuesday.
When asked about a strategy by which he could run for vice president, which is permissible, and then run for the presidency himself, he dismissed the idea as “too nice.”
“You’ll be allowed to do that, but I won’t do it,” he said.