Trump Goes One Step Further Toward Naming JD Vance His Heir Apparent

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he expects his vice president, JD Vance, to be a top contender for the presidency in 2028, going a step further toward naming him the heir apparent to his “Make America Great Again” movement.

“Well, I think most likely, in all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump said when asked if Vance was likely to pick up the mantle as his spiritual successor. “I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”

Trump took the question at an event commemorating the establishment of the White House Task Force on the 2028 Summer Olympics. He was joined on stage by roughly a dozen members of his administration, including his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Attorney General Pam Bondi and others.

“I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here,” the president continued.

Trump has mostly ruled out running for a third term himself, leaving the Republican primary field wide open for a new contender for the first time in over a decade.

Vance has only run for public office twice: once for the U.S. Senate in Ohio and again last year to be vice president. In addition to his duties as vice president, he is also finance chair for the Republican National Committee, another way he has been wielding influence.

Though Vance is thought to be the heir apparent to the MAGA throne, there is a crowded field of contenders both within and outside of the administration, including officials like Rubio and Noem and others like Sen. Ted Cruz, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

“So it’s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he’s [Vance] doing a great job, and he would probably be favored at this point,” Trump said Tuesday.

Three weeks into his second term, Fox News asked Trump whether he envisioned Vance as the 2028 Republican nominee and Trump said no, adding that it was too early.

“But he’s very capable. I mean, I don’t think that it, you know, I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said at the time. “It’s too early. We’re just starting.”