Vice President JD Vance, on Monday, revealed his mindset about a potential 2028 presidential run while dismissing rumors about a feud between him and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as President Donald Trump recently floated both men as potential successors.
Earlier this month, Trump said he was confident the MAGA movement could continue without him at the top, and mentioned the two top administration officials as possible future leaders.
“You look at Marco, you look at JD Vance, who’s fantastic,” the president told NBC’s “Meet The Press.” “You look at — I could name 10, 15, 20 people right now just sitting here.”
In an interview with NBC News in Rome during his trip to attend Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural Mass, Vance explained his mindset as it pertains to the upcoming presidential election, without specifically referencing Trump’s remarks.
“My attitude is, if I do end up running in 2028, I’m not entitled to it,” he said. “But I really think that Marco and I can get a lot done together over the next few years. That’s how I think about our friendship and our relationship. And I would be shocked if he thought about it any differently.”
Vance said he and Rubio, who also joined the Italy trip, talk on the phone as many as five times a day “on a light day,” noting that he has a lot of trust in his fellow Cabinet member and tunes out this type of chatter about their relationship.
“I don’t give a shit about this stuff,” he said. “I don’t even think that much about it.”
While Vance could be considered Trump’s heir apparent given his role, Rubio, who currently holds a total of three jobs in the administration and was also floated as a potential vice presidential candidate last year, has a big enough platform to potentially challenge the Ohio Republican down the line, sources told NBC.
Rubio also competed against Trump in the brutal 2016 GOP presidential primary but grew close to the president in the years since.
