President Donald Trump understands the difficulties in amending the Constitution to change the constraints preventing him from seeking a third term in office, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday.
"There's a constitutional path," Johnson, a former constitutional attorney, told reporters during a press conference Tuesday, reports The Hill.
"You have to amend the Constitution to do it, and that's a high bar."
To change the Constitution, both houses of Congress must approve the change by a two-thirds vote in each chamber, or a convention must be called by two-thirds of the nation's state legislatures, and then three-fourths of the state legislatures or conventions must ratify the amendment, according to the National Archives.
The 22nd Amendment, passed in 1951, stipulates that a president can only serve two terms in office.
Johnson's comments came after Trump told NBC News last weekend that he is "not joking" about running for a third term in office.
"A lot of people want me to do it," Trump claimed. "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."
Johnson said he's talked with Trump about the possibility, however, and said they "joked about it."
"He's joked with me on stage before," he told reporters. "You know, we take him at his word."
But Johnson said he understands why Trump's supporters want him to remain in office.
"I understand why so many Americans do wish that he could run for a third term because he's accomplishing so much in these first 100 days that they wish it could go on for much longer," Johnson said. "But I think he recognizes the constitutional limitations, and I'm not sure that there's a move about to amend the Constitution."
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., has proposed an amendment allowing Trump to seek a third term, but it is worded to only allow a president serving nonconsecutive terms to seek another try at the Oval Office. This would prevent the other two surviving former American presidents, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, from making a comeback bid.
Trump on Monday joked about running against Obama, telling a reporter that he'd "love that," adding that it would be a "good one."
In January, Trump floated a third term while he was at a House GOP retreat. He said he thought he was not allowed to run again and asked Johnson for his opinion.
"Am I allowed to run again, Mike?" said Trump. "I better not get you involved in that."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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