The 45th and 47th President of the United States loves nothing more than watching heads explode on both sides of the aisle whenever he jokes about running again in 2028. He even rocked a red "Trump 2028" hat just to keep the chaos flowing. But deep down, the man knows the Constitution says two terms and done, so the real soap opera is about who gets to carry the torch next. And according to Conservative Brief, he apparently let the cat out of the bag during an Oval Office donor meeting roughly two weeks ago.
An anonymous source originally spilled to the Washington Post that Trump told the room, "At the end of the day, we need to elect JD." That would be Vice President JD Vance, for anyone who somehow forgot the guy exists. Now before you go printing the campaign bumper stickers, the New York Post cautioned that these remarks shouldn't necessarily be taken as a final verdict between Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. But they do offer a fascinating little window into how Trump thinks about his political legacy, which is basically all the time.
Vance has apparently been racking up brownie points lately. He negotiated the June Iran ceasefire, led a task force going after federal fraud, and survived a brutal media tour promoting his book this past June. During a donor gathering in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Trump gave Vance a shoutout for his fraud fighting efforts, saying, "He's doing a great job." High praise from a guy who usually reserves compliments for himself.
Meanwhile, Rubio is lurking like a very diplomatic shark. The former Florida senator, who got steamrolled by Trump in the 2016 primary, has been climbing in national polls and early state surveys. He finished right behind Vance in the CPAC straw poll earlier this year, which naturally has everyone buzzing about a potential rivalry. Both men insist they are buddies, and Rubio even stated publicly that he would not pursue the nomination if Vance goes for it. How refreshingly civilized for politics.
Trump himself has floated the idea of a Vance and Rubio ticket, calling such a pairing "unstoppable" while conveniently refusing to say who should be on top. Last year he acknowledged Vance is "most likely" his successor simply because, well, he is the vice president. Logic checks out.
Vance played it cool during a Wednesday night appearance on "The Ingraham Angle," emphasizing that Trump runs the show and everyone else falls in line. He has not officially announced any 2028 ambitions, though he has quietly built a network of political advisers who could power a national campaign at a moment's notice.
Rubio, on the other hand, has been racking up frequent flyer miles on international assignments and has not assembled a similar political operation. Trump has praised him extensively for his foreign policy work involving Venezuela, Cuba, and the Middle East, even saying Rubio could become "the greatest secretary of state in history." So basically, one guy is building a campaign apparatus while the other is collecting passport stamps. Should make for quite the entertaining primary season once the 2026 midterms wrap up.
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