LDoes Trump’s “natural successor” already exist? One year before the midterm elections, JD Vance let those ideas filter into the broader horizons open to him. Asked on Fox News, the vice president admitted that he would discuss with Donald Trump, after the voting is over, the possibility of a presidential candidacy in the 2028 election. A prospect that is still considered premature by interested parties, but has already become a reality among Republicans.
“I’m very focused on the midterms… and if you start pushing yourself, you become less good at the job you’re entitled to,” emphasized JD Vance, refusing to fuel speculation too openly. He said he wanted to protect “the trees planted” by Donald Trump and some of them “will only bear fruit in a few years.”
JUST IN — VP Vance discusses a potential 2028 presidential run exclusively @seanhannity interview: “We’re going to win the midterm elections. We’re going to do everything we can to win the midterm elections. And after that, I’m going to sit down with the president of the United States and talk to… pic.twitter.com/WNelaoph2D
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 14, 2025
The midterm elections will indeed say a lot about the direction the Republican Party will choose until the 2028 presidential election. Do we need to maintain the direction of “America First” or change direction? “Most of what the president launches will have long-term impacts, and if the Democrats return to power, they will throw everything away,” the vice president said.
Feeling like you’re dueling with Marco Rubio
Behind the scenes, the equation becomes more precise. According to several people close to him, Marco Rubio has privately admitted to considering JD Vance the true favorite for 2028, even pledging his support if the vice president takes a chance. The Secretary of State, who briefly presented a credible alternative in the 2016 Republican primary, now views JD Vance as his natural successor.
READ ALSO JD Vance, the authoritarian conservative who became Donald Trump’s bulldog
To find
Kangaroo today
Answer
“Marco was very clear: JD would be the Republican candidate if he wanted to,” said a close friend of the secretary, Politico reported. Another, familiar with internal exchanges, even noted that “we expected JD as the candidate and Rubio as the running mate.” In the Trumpist ecosystem, the prospect of a Vance–Rubio duo is almost strategic, strengthened by the high-profile friendship that unites the two men. JD Vance himself recalled that they regularly had lunch together, discussing “movies and national defense”.
Polls support this dynamic: a Politico survey puts JD Vance well ahead of Trump voters, while Rubio is ahead by 2%. Enough to trigger a face-to-face or tandem scenario in the future if Donald Trump does decide to appoint his own political heir.
