WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump recently told donors in private that he wants Vice President JD Vance to win the 2028 presidential ele...
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump recently told donors in private that he wants Vice President JD Vance to win the 2028 presidential election, The Washington Post reported, citing sources.
"At the end of the day, we need to elect JD," the newspaper quoted Trump as saying during an Oval Office meeting with donors about two weeks ago.
According to a presidential adviser, Trump has privately concluded that Vance will be his Republican successor. Another adviser said Vance had impressed Trump by negotiating a memorandum of understanding with Iran, leading a task force to crack down on fraud in federal benefits and handling a series of media interviews.
Other sources are uncertain whether Trump would ultimately back Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying that the president often tells different people different things and could still change his mind. "Trump aides widely agree that the president will delay endorsing to avoid appearing to be a lame duck," The Washington Post noted.
Meanwhile, a person close to Rubio said the secretary of state had recently reduced his media appearances to avoid questions about his political ambitions. Vance has also made no public comments about his future plans.
A Trump adviser told the newspaper that Trump would still like to see Rubio on a joint ticket with Vance but that it remained unclear whether Rubio would be willing to serve as Vance's running mate.
Trump has repeatedly described Vance and Rubio as strong potential candidates to succeed him after his term ends and that their ticket would be difficult to defeat in the 2028 election. However, he has not indicated which of the two should head the ticket.
-News Feed
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