House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told a weird story about his recent meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House. The meeting happened earlier this week as lawmakers tried to stop a government shutdown. Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Trump to talk about federal funding. But what happened during that meeting has made people uncomfortable across Washington.
During the talk in the Oval Office, something strange happened that left the Democratic leaders confused. Trump 2028 hats suddenly showed up on the desk while the meeting was going on. The hats push the idea of Trump running for a third time as president, which breaks the rules set by the 22nd Amendment. The amendment clearly says that no person can be elected president more than twice.
Jeffries talked about the moment in an interview with CNN on Tuesday night. He explained that unlike some reports, Trump did not try to give the hats to him or Schumer. “They just randomly appeared in the middle of the meeting on the desk. It was the strangest thing ever,” Jeffries said. He then looked at Vice President JD Vance, who was sitting to his left, and asked, “Don’t you got a problem with this?” Vance just replied, “No comment.” That was the end of the talk about the hats.
Trump has been talking about a third term for months
President Trump has talked many times about the idea of running for a third term as president even though the Constitution says he cannot. In March, he told NBC News that “a lot of people want me to do it” and said there are “methods which you could do it.” When asked if he was joking, Trump said he was “not joking” about the idea. He talked about one way this could work, where Vice President Vance wins the White House in a future election and then gives the job over to him.
Senator Lindsey Graham has also said he supports a Trump third term. Last week, Graham told Fox News host Sean Hannity, “Trump 2028. I hope this never ends.” At the same time, Representative Andy Ogles brought up a plan shortly after Trump took office that would change the Constitution to let Trump run again. Conservative groups at CPAC 2025 have also pushed the idea.
After the White House meeting, Trump put up photos on Truth Social showing Jeffries and Schumer sitting in the Oval Office with the Trump 2028 hats in the picture. Trump also posted a video that Jeffries called “racist and fake” that showed him dressed in Mexican clothing. The government shutdown started at midnight after talks failed. Democrats have pushed for protecting healthcare funding while Republicans want a simple funding bill. The shutdown is the first one since 2018-19.
