'A joke!' Lindsey Graham scrambles after urging Trump to trash the Constitution

International leaders and diplomats gasped and were seen shaking their heads as US President Donald Trump gave his address at the United Nations General Assembly—attacking the UN itself, migration, and climate action—but Sen. Lindsey Graham gave the speech an obsequious review on Fox News Tuesday night, going so far as to say Trump’s performance made a compelling case for him to run for an illegal third term.

“Trump 2028,” Graham (R-SC) told Sean Hannity. “I hope this never ends.”

He repeated Trump’s baseless claim that he has ended seven “unendable” wars since taking office in January and praised the president for “standing up in the UN and telling the world the way it is.”

“We don’t have to live this way,” said Graham, before emphasizing, “I hope he runs again.”

Graham’s comments represented “Republicans just openly calling for unconstitutional, lawless behavior” from the president, said journalist Mehdi Hasan.

Trump is barred from running for a third term by the 22nd Amendment of the US Constitution, which states: “No person shall be elected to the office of the president more than twice.”

Graham has previously called for the president to run for a third term in 2028, saying on the social media platform X, “Trump 2028!” after praising Trump’s address to Congress in March.

The comment was “a joke,” Graham later said.

The president has also made comments about attempting to serve a third term, and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a resolution days after Trump was sworn in to amend the Constitution, aiming to clear the way for a 2028 presidential run.

Economist Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research said the latest comments from Graham—who loudly denounced Trump at the beginning of his political career—suggested that “Trump must have some big-time dirt” on the senator.

“He used to have pretenses of being a serious person,” said Baker.