President-elect Trump floated the prospect of looking for a 3rd time period in an obvious joke to Home Republicans on Wednesday as they met forward of inside management elections.
“I suspect I won’t be running again unless you do something,” Trump stated, in keeping with pool stories and audio shared with The Hill. “Unless you say, ‘He’s so good, we have to just figure it out.’”
The remark received laughs from the GOP lawmakers within the crowd – a number of of whom later informed reporters that the remark was not critical.
“That was a joke. It was clearly a joke,” Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) stated after the assembly. “I leaned over to somebody beside me, [Arizona Rep.] Andy Biggs, and I said that’ll be the headlines tomorrow, Trump trying to thwart the Constitution, which there’s nothing further from the truth.”
“That was a joke. I mean, he jokes all the time,” stated Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), including that an issue with politics is that “you can’t even tell a joke without being excoriated.”
Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), sporting a Trump tie, dismissed a query about whether or not he would assist Trump looking for a 3rd time period.
“Are you kidding me? Just stop it,” Nehls stated.
Trump is constitutionally barred from looking for a 3rd time period in workplace, because of the twenty second Modification to the Structure.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has argued that Trump is looking for to make main coverage modifications as quick as potential due to his restricted time in workplace, and won’t be having to fret about seeing one other time period as president.
Through the marketing campaign, Trump’s opponents warned that he can be a “dictator” if elected again to workplace, an assertion that Republicans largely disregarded or condemned as Trump.
Trump stated late final 12 months that he would solely be a “dictator “for at some point to shut the U.S.-Mexico border and “drill drill drill.”
“After that, I’m not a dictator,” Trump stated in December 2023.
Trump has beforehand expressed admiration for many who have saved energy in international international locations, resembling Chinese language President Xi Jingping.
“He’s you know, an incredible guy,” Trump stated of Xi in 2018. “Essentially president for life. That’s pretty good.”
Trump spoke to the Home Republicans as they met at a resort close to the Capitol forward of inside management elections.
Mychael Schnell contributed.
