President Donald Trump has publicly been coy about whether he might back Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio to succeed him in the White House, but private comments to donors suggest he might be leaning toward the man he already picked as his running mate in 2024.
\n\u201cAt the end of the day, we need to elect JD,\u201d Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with donors roughly two weeks ago, a source with knowledge of the comments, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, confirmed to Fox News Digital.
\nThe news was first reported by The Washington Post.
\nWhile Vance remains the clear hypothetical frontrunner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has narrowed the gap in national polls and surveys conducted in key early voting presidential primary states, as well as in Republican straw polls, ahead of a race that is not expected to begin in earnest until after this autumn\u2019s midterm elections.
\nVANCE, CRUZ, HEAD TO IOWA ON 2026 MISSIONS AS 2028 GOP RACE TO SUCCEED TRUMP HEATS UP<\/p>\n
While Post sources say the remark is not evidence Trump has made a choice between his VP or Rubio, a man he has handed many hats in his administration, it is a rare and previously unreported lean of his long-term thinking.
\nTrump made just one reference to Vance in his donor speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, hailing \u201cthe war on fraud led by our great Vice President JD Vance: He\u2019s doing a great job.\u201d
\nFox News Digital reached out to the White House and Vance\u2019s office for comment Thursday morning.
\nRubio, who as a senator from Florida was one of more than a dozen\u00a0GOP contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential\u00a0primary, came in a close second to Vance earlier this year in the closely watched 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).
\nThe latest surveys and straw poll results are fuel for intrigue over what some in the\u00a0Republican Party\u00a0see as a budding rivalry between Rubio and Vance, who describe each other as friends.
\n\u201cThe president runs this administration: He is the very top of the administration; he makes orders,\u201d Vance told \u201cThe Ingraham Angle\u201d in an exclusive sit down Wednesday night. \u201cWe, of course, have debates and conversations about what exactly we should do, but when the president of the United States makes a decision, we\u2019re unified in this administration in carrying out that mission.\u201d
\nDespite Vance having won the 2024 running mate sweepstakes, Trump has also lavishly praised Rubio for his work in peacemaking efforts in Venezuela, Cuba and the Middle East, while simultaneously serving as national security advisor among his many leadership roles in the administration.
\nThe president earlier this year declared that Rubio would go down as \u201cthe greatest secretary of state in history.\u201d
\nTrump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket as \u201cunstoppable\u201d \u2014 stopping short of explicitly saying who should be at the top of the ticket.
\nTrump did say last year that Vance is \u201cmost likely\u201d his heir, because \u201cin all fairness, he\u2019s the vice president.\u201d
\nNEW POLL COMPLICATES VANCE\u2019S STATUS AS TRUMP\u2019S LIKELY 2028 HEIR APPARENT<\/p>\n
Trump joked at the White House Correspondents Dinner last month \u2013 rescheduled after dodging another assassination attempt earlier this spring \u2013 he would be running for president for a fourth in a troll to his critics, donning a Trump 2028
\nWhile Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, he has built a political team of advisors who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.
\nRubio, who is crisscrossing the globe, does not have a similar group of political aides, and Rubio has said he will back Vance if the vice president launches a 2028 campaign.
\nNotably, Vance is the RNC\u2019s finance chair, ostensibly giving him the keys to the cash vault of more than $128 million cash on hand, according to the June Federal Elections Commission filing.
\n\u201cVice President Vance has been a fundraising powerhouse for the RNC, supercharging our war chest as we head into the midterms,\u201d RNC Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital in a statement. \u201cHe\u2019s held record-breaking events across the country and brought new and longtime donors together with his ability to connect every corner of the America First movement.\u00a0
\n\u201cAs we prepare to protect and expand our Republican majorities, Vice President Vance will be a driving force behind the resources, energy, and momentum needed to win.\u201d
\nRepublican sources confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that a group of GOP donors supporting the secretary of state is quietly exploring ways to boost Rubio\u2019s political profile, which has not sat well with some in the president\u2019s political orbit.
\nVANCE CONFRONTED ABOUT 2028 AMBITIONS AFTER TRUMP TEASES \u2018DREAM TEAM\u2019 RUBIO TICKET<\/p>\n
\u201cVice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party, and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration,\u201d an operative in Trump\u2019s political orbit told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
\n\u201cThe divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful,\u201d the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.
\nTrump more recently questioned White House staff about the two possible contenders during a flight aboard Marine One, according to the Post. Although one adviser told the newspaper that Trump has privately settled on Vance as the Republican heir apparent, six other advisers and allies said they were not convinced that the president had made up his mind.
\nThose advisers noted that Trump sometimes gives different signals to different audiences and could change his position before the 2028 campaign begins. His aides also broadly expect him to delay any formal endorsement, in part to avoid diminishing his own influence during the remainder of his presidency.
\nDEMOCRATS BUILD MIDTERM MOMENTUM, BUT REPUBLICANS STILL IN DRIVER\u2019S SEAT IN SENATE MAJORITY BATTLE<\/p>\n
The dynamic resembles Trump\u2019s 2024 search for a running mate, when Vance and Rubio were among the finalists. Advisers told the Post that Trump enjoys maintaining suspense around major political decisions and is reluctant to hand the spotlight to a potential successor too early.
\nVance admitted to Ingraham it is his \u201cjob\u201d to take criticism, particularly if absorbs pressure from the president.\u00a0
\n\u201cIt\u2019s my job, Laura,\u201d Vance said. \u201cIf the worst thing that happens is I take flak for the president to make his administration more successful, I\u2019ll be happy about that.\u201d
\nVance did not talk about whether he will run.\u00a0
\nHe did say in June that he planned to discuss his political future with his wife after the midterm elections and has maintained that he remains focused on serving as vice president.
\nPeople close to Vance previously told the Post that he intended to wait until after the birth of his fourth child before seriously considering a campaign. The child was born July 19.
\nThe 2026 midterms could shape the emerging succession contest. Republican losses could encourage additional candidates to enter the race and make it easier for them to criticize Trump\u2019s administration or challenge his preferred successor. A strong performance, by contrast, could strengthen Trump\u2019s ability to shape the 2028 field.<\/p>\n
Vance has spent much of his vice presidency building relationships with Republican donors and activists. He is closely associated with the younger, populist wing of the MAGA coalition and has taken on political and policy assignments that have helped raise his profile.
\nRubio historically has had stronger ties to traditional Republican donors, while Vance has deeper support among the party\u2019s newer populist base.<\/p>\n
This post appeared first on https:\/\/www.foxnews.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"