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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.
“At the end of the day, we need to elect JD,” 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.
The news was first reported by The Washington Post.
While 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’s midterm elections.
VANCE, CRUZ, HEAD TO IOWA ON 2026 MISSIONS AS 2028 GOP RACE TO SUCCEED TRUMP HEATS UP
President Donald Trump has yet to officially point to either Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his successor of choice in 2028. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
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.
Trump made just one reference to Vance in his donor speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, hailing “the war on fraud led by our great Vice President JD Vance: He’s doing a great job.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Vance’s office for comment Thursday morning.
Rubio, who as a senator from Florida was one of more than a dozen GOP contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential primary, 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).
The latest surveys and straw poll results are fuel for intrigue over what some in the Republican Party see as a budding rivalry between Rubio and Vance, who describe each other as friends.
“The president runs this administration: He is the very top of the administration; he makes orders,” Vance told “The Ingraham Angle” in an exclusive sit down Wednesday night. “We, of course, have debates and conversations about what exactly we should do, but when the president of the United States makes a decision, we’re unified in this administration in carrying out that mission.”
Despite 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.
The president earlier this year declared that Rubio would go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.”
Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket as “unstoppable” — stopping short of explicitly saying who should be at the top of the ticket.
Trump did say last year that Vance is “most likely” his heir, because “in all fairness, he’s the vice president.”
NEW POLL COMPLICATES VANCE’S STATUS AS TRUMP’S LIKELY 2028 HEIR APPARENT
Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s wearing of hats of leadership in many Trump administration roles has put him in the foreground of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance’s Cabinet. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump joked at the White House Correspondents Dinner last month – rescheduled after dodging another assassination attempt earlier this spring – he would be running for president for a fourth in a troll to his critics, donning a Trump 2028
While 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.
Rubio, 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.
Notably, Vance is the RNC’s 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.
“Vice President Vance has been a fundraising powerhouse for the RNC, supercharging our war chest as we head into the midterms,” RNC Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital in a statement. “He’s 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.
“As 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.”
Republican 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’s political profile, which has not sat well with some in the president’s political orbit.
VANCE CONFRONTED ABOUT 2028 AMBITIONS AFTER TRUMP TEASES ‘DREAM TEAM’ RUBIO TICKET
Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been in lockstep on every issue in this second Trump administration.
“Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party, and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration,” an operative in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
“The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful,” the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.
Trump 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.
Those 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.
DEMOCRATS BUILD MIDTERM MOMENTUM, BUT REPUBLICANS STILL IN DRIVER’S SEAT IN SENATE MAJORITY BATTLE
Vice President JD Vance, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and War Secretary Pete Hegseth have managed multiple wars and peacemaking efforts around the globe during this administration. (Getty Images)
The dynamic resembles Trump’s 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.
Vance admitted to Ingraham it is his “job” to take criticism, particularly if absorbs pressure from the president.
“It’s my job, Laura,” Vance said. “If the worst thing that happens is I take flak for the president to make his administration more successful, I’ll be happy about that.”
Vance did not talk about whether he will run.
He 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.
People 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.
The 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’s administration or challenge his preferred successor. A strong performance, by contrast, could strengthen Trump’s ability to shape the 2028 field.
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.
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Rubio historically has had stronger ties to traditional Republican donors, while Vance has deeper support among the party’s newer populist base.