Donald Trump, the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee, promised congressional Republicans on Thursday he would defend Article XII of the U.S. Constitution if elected.
But he didn't leave quite the impression he had hoped, since the Constitution has only seven articles.
Trump's meeting on Capitol Hill was an attempt to unify Republicans behind his candidacy since some members have yet to back him.
The Washington Post cited people inside the private meeting, including South Carolina Rep. Mark Sanford, who said he was concerned about Trump's grasp of the Constitution.
"I wasn’t particularly impressed," Sanford told reporters afterward. "It was the normal stream of consciousness that's long on hyperbole and short on facts."
Noting that at one point, someone asked Trump what he would do to protect Article I powers, which outline the powers of the legislative branch.
"I think his response was, 'I want to protect Article I, Article II, Article XII,' going down the list," Sanford said. "There is no Article XII."
But Virginia Rep. Morgan Griffith said he assumed Trump had thought he was discussing the Constitution's amendments.
Sanford said Trump "may be loose on some facts, reckless on some, but there’s not malicious intent there."
Trump reportedly made
at least one other gaffe at the meeting when he told Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, who has yet to endorse Trump, that he will lose his re-election bid in November. Flake told Trump he is not up for re-election this year.
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