President Donald Trump, who is currently in Asia, said on Wednesday he wouldn’t run for a third term, stating that it’s barred by the U.S. Constitution.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday there’s no way to amend the U.S. Constitution to allow Trump to run for a third presidential term because the nation’s founding document requires a lengthy ratification process.
Johnson said Trump, whose term ends in January 2029, has no plans of changing term limits, despite the president in the past teasing a 2028 run.
Johnson did say he had discussed the U.S. Constitution’s constraints with Trump during his trip in Asia, where he has been since Sunday. He also said there were no plans to amend the 22nd Amendment before 2028. The amendment aims to prevent future indefinite presidencies, following Franklin D. Roosevelt’s four-term presidency.
“It’s been a great run,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “But I think the president knows, and he and I have talked about, the constrictions of the Constitution.”
Johnson stressed the amendment process inscribed in Article V of the Constitution, which needs approval by two-thirds of both the House and Senate, and then ratification by three-fourths of the states—or 38 states.
“I don’t see the path for that,” he said.
The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, limits presidents to serving two elected terms.
Trump, 79, has sold “Trump 2028” merchandise at his rallies, though Johnson has said that was for “trolling Democrats.” Trump would be 82 in 2028, and if he won, he would take President Joe Biden’s spot as the oldest to hold office.
The president has noted that potential 2028 Republican candidates are great people.