President Donald Trump reportedly conveyed to donors during a private conversation in the Oval Office his desire that Vice President JD Vance win the 2028 presidential election.
The reported conversation, according to the Washington Post (WP), happened two weeks ago and the outlet on Thursday cited two individuals who had knowledge of the conversation but spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“At the end of the day, we need to elect JD,” the president reportedly stated.
The news came after Trump said in June that a Republican presidential ticket featuring Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be “very unbeatable,” according to Breitbart News.
The WP article continued:
Even as Trump buoyed his vice president to donors in the Oval Office, though, he was still peppering people around him with questions about Vance versus Rubio. One White House official said the president quizzed staff about the two men on a Marine One ride late last month.
An adviser to the president with direct knowledge of Trump’s comment to the donors said that Trump has privately resolved that Vance will be the heir to the GOP, but that it is “too early” to determine when Vance will announce his candidacy or when Trump will publicly endorse him.
Rubio said in May he would be the first person to back Vance if he ran for president in 2028, per Breitbart News.
“I’m going to be in this job for the next two and a half years. I’m going to do that job. I’m going to finish the job for this president. I’m enjoying it very much. I think we’re going to make a lot of good things happen. JD is a very good friend of mine. If JD runs for president. I think he’d be a phenomenal candidate. I’ve said publicly, and I’ll say it again, I’ll be the first person to sign up and support him. I think JD would do great,” Rubio told NBC News.
A poll in June showed Vance and former Vice President Kamala Harris (D) dominating within their own parties among potential 2028 candidates, while Rubio was polling just underneath Vance at the time, per Breitbart News.
The outlet reported in January that “Democrats face persistent internal discord, unresolved strategic debates, and voter skepticism that threatens to complicate their path toward unity and success in the 2028 presidential election.”
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