'He's joking': Republicans dismiss Trump's third term remarks

Even as US President Donald Trump continues to maintain that he is open to running for a third term, Republican leaders have dismissed the remarks as a joke.

In the latest instance, Trump on Sunday said that he was “not joking” about a third run for the presidency. He went on to say that there are methods for a third run that he is exploring. He did not elaborate on what methods he was referring to.

The US Constitution, as per the 22nd Amendment (1951), limits a president to two terms. However, repeated statements by Trump and his allies about a third run have generated anxiety whether they are exploring a workaround or considering simply disregarding the constitution.

However, senior Republican figures have said that there are no plans to change the constitution and Trump is joking.

Senator Markwayne Mullin said that Trump’s remarks are “more tongue-in-cheek than anything else”.

Mullin said, “We’ve got this little problem that’s probably going to prevent that from happening. It’s called the Constitution. I think it’s more tongue-in-cheek than anything else.”

Sen. John Cornyn said that Trump has a “great sense of humor” and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune said that Trump is “probably having some fun with it” and is “probably messing with you”. House Majority Leader Representative Steve Scalise said that there are no plans to change the constitution.

“There’s a lot of things the president talks about, ultimately, it gets people talking and addresses some other issues too. There’s no proposal to change the Constitution right now,” said Scalise.

But can Trump run for 3rd term?

Constitutionally, Trump cannot run for a third term. The 22nd Amendment limits a president to two terms whether such terms are consecutive or not.

However, Trump and his allies’ disdain for rules and their proclivity to rule by decree have led to fears that Trump could simply ignore the constitution and refuse to leave office after the end of his second term. After all, Trump never acknowledged the result of the 2020 election and continues to maintain that he won that election.

ALSO READ: Explained: Why can’t US presidents serve more than two terms?

Constitutionally, though, there is no way that Trump can run for presidency for the third time. Theoretically, he can have the constitution amended to run for the third time but it is nearly imppossible to get such an amendment.

Two-thirds of both the Senate and House would need to pass the amendment and then three-fourth of all states would need (38 out of 50 states) would need to ratify the amendment. Currently, at least 18 states are controlled by Democrats and Republicans don’t have two-third majority in Senate or House. This means that Republicans do not have the means to get the constitution amended at least now.