House Speaker Mike Johnson batted down the possibility of President Donald Trump seeking a third term for the White House on Tuesday, noting the constitutional restrictions in place on presidential term limits.
While the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars someone from being elected president more than twice, Trump and his former White House adviser Steve Bannon have floated the idea in recent weeks that he might seek a third term.
WATCH: Tamara Keith and Amy Walter on Trump flirting with the idea of the 3rd term
“It’s been a great run, but I think the president knows — and he and I have talked about — the constrictions of the Constitution, as much as so many of the American people lament that,” Johnson, R-La., told reporters at the Capitol.
The United States has “three extraordinary years ahead” of the Trump administration, Johnson said. But he estimated that it would take about 10 years to amend the Constitution, which requires approval of a proposed amendment by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of the states. States can also petition Congress to call a constitutional convention to consider a possible amendment, but that process has never taken place in U.S. history.
Watch Johnson’s full news conference below.
“I don’t see the path for that,” Johnson said of amending the Constitution to allow Trump to seek a third term.
READ MORE: Why does the U.S. have presidential term limits? The history of the 22nd Amendment
In his answer, Johnson also noted the “Trump 2028” baseball cap that the president and some of his allies have donned.
Trump “has a good time with that, trolling the Democrats whose hair is on fire about the very prospect,” he said.
