Trump told NBC News he’s “not joking” about a third term. But GOP lawmakers said it can’t be done without a near-impossible amending of the Constitution.
WASHINGTON — Top Republicans on Capitol Hill poured cold water on President Donald Trump‘s talk of a potential third term, downplaying the prospect that he would pursue it.
Several lawmakers insisted that Trump wasn’t serious about it, even though he told NBC News on Sunday that he’s “not joking” about wanting another term, which is barred under the 22nd Amendment, and that “there are methods” to be able to run again.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Monday when he was asked whether he believes Trump, 78, can serve a third term: “Not without a change in the Constitution.”
He added that Trump doesn’t appear serious about that.
“I think that you guys keep asking the question and I think he’s probably having some fun with it, probably messing with you,” Thune told reporters.
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Another top Republican said the Constitution is clear on the matter.
“Read the Constitution,” said Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the Senate president pro tempore and chair of the Judiciary Committee.
Asked again whether he believes it’s not an option for Trump, Grassley said: “I shouldn’t have to answer that. Read the Constitution.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who ran for president against Trump in 2016, gave a similar answer. “The 22nd Amendment is clear and unequivocal,” Cruz said in a brief interview Monday.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., a close Trump ally, said Trump “can say he’s not joking, but it’s tongue in cheek of the president.”
“I’ve known him for a long time, and I consider him a friend, Mullin told NBC News.
Asked whether he would object if Trump sought a third term, Mullin replied: “I don’t play hypotheticals, guys.”
Across the Capitol in the House, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., dismissed the idea, suggesting that Trump floats ideas and concepts not necessarily with the hope of achieving them but to get discussions going.
“I don’t know what he was referring to. I never saw it,” Scalise said when he was asked about Trump’s comments. “But, you know, you see it like with Greenland, like with Panama Canal. There’s a lot of things the president talks about. Ultimately, it gets people talking and addresses some other issues, too.”
Pressed whether he would support changing the Constitution to let Trump run for a third term, Scalise quickly dismissed the idea. “There’s no proposal to change the Constitution right now,” he said.
Trump tells NBC News he’s ‘not joking’ about 3rd presidential term
