Congressional Republicans are brushing off President Trump’s latest comments about seeking a third term, downplaying them as a joke designed to needle the media even as the president insists he is serious.
Trump has teased the idea of a 2028 bid for years, remarks that were largely seen as an effort to mock his opponents. But his comments over the weekend to NBC, which were some of his most expansive yet on the topic, created new questions about his intentions despite the Constitution’s clear language barring any such push.
Still, Republicans in Congress largely believe his remarks were just another barb aimed at the left.
“We’ve got this little problem that’s probably going to prevent that from happening. It’s called the Constitution,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said. “I think it’s more tongue-in-cheek than anything else.”
Others agreed.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that Trump has a “great sense of humor.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he believes Trump is giving his opponents and the media a hard time.
“You guys keep asking the question and I think he’s probably having some fun with it,” Thune told reporters on Monday. “[He’s] probably messing with you.”
Trump on Sunday told NBC News there are potential workarounds to allow him to serve a third term.
“A lot of people want me to do it,” Trump said. “But, I mean, I basically tell them we have a long way to go, you know, it’s very early in the administration. … I’m focused on the current.”
When asked to clarify, Trump maintained that he was “not joking.”
Still, Republican leaders do not appear to be taking Trump seriously.
“There’s a lot of things the president talks about, ultimately, it gets people talking and addresses some other issues too,” House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told NBC News in the Capitol on Monday when asked about the third term comments.
Scalise added: “There’s no proposal to change the Constitution right now.”
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) agreed.
“I think people are having fun with the topic and it’s really just a distraction from the mission right now,” he said.
But there are Republicans making moves to try to change the Constitution.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) proposed a Constitutional amendment in January that would allow Trump to seek a third term. It was carefully worded to only allow a president who has served two non-consecutive terms to seek a third one, which would prevent former Presidents Obama and Bush from returning.
It is highly unlikely that the amendment is adopted, as it would take support from two-thirds of each chamber of Congress – meaning significant support from Democrats – to advance, before needing three-quarters of states to ratify the amendment. But the resolution could be used to build support for or encourage a third term idea that might be explored in other ways.
Ogles told The Hill he was “thrilled” by Trump’s comments. And while he does not yet have any cosponsors on the proposal, that could soon change as Trump publicly entertains the idea.
“In the short time he has been in office, President Trump has demonstrated that he is the leader our country desperately needs to get us back on track,” Ogles said. “I’m thrilled to hear the President say he is considering another run in 2028. I hope my colleagues in the House and Senate will join me in my legislative effort to make that a possibility.”
Advocacy to build support for a third Trump term is extending beyond the halls of Congress.
The Third Term Project – an initiative spearheaded by Republicans for National Renewal, which describes itself as a nationalist and populist group – plans to target local Republican party organizations to adopt resolutions in stating support for a constitutional amendment, such as the one Ogles proposed, to allow Trump to seek a third term.
The completed sample resolution obtained by The Hill “calls upon federal and state legislators to initiate appropriate constitutional amendment processes under Article V” to allow the president “up to three terms in office.” It frames the third term push in terms of “voter choice,” saying that “expanding voter choice strengthens American institutions while maintaining constitutional safeguards.”
The Third Term Project first made waves at the Conservative Political Action Conference earlier this year, handing out “Trump 2028” stickers and displaying an image of Trump in the style of a Roman statue.
Trump alluded to ways other than a Constitutional change to secure a third term, telling NBC that there are “methods which you could do it.”
Trump pointed to one where Vice President Vance runs for the White House and passes off the job to him – an idea that is prohibited by the 12th Amendment.
“But there are others, too,” Trump added, declining to go any further or list any other avenues.
Before Trump’s comments, Republicans almost universally brushed off Trump’s repeated comments about seeking another term in office as what they called an obvious joke, saying it was unconstitutional for him to seek another position.
The idea that an amendment vote would even come up is considered almost preposterous on its face.
When asked if he would support such an amendment, Cornyn made clear he doesn’t think he’d ever have to weigh in.
“I doubt that it would ever come up,” he said.
