JD Vance couldn’t keep his coy giggles at bay when asked whether he‘d one day be taking over from President Trump.
The millennial VP spoke with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press Sunday, and cryptically hinted that he and Trump may have spoken about his place in the future leadership of the GOP.
Asked at first whether he saw himself as “the apparent future of the MAGA movement,” Vance stayed humble and suggested that 2026 midterms were the focus for now—but that if all went to plan the future “will take care of itself.”
“I see myself as a vice president who’s trying to do a good job for the American people, Kristen,” he said.
“And if I do a good job, and if the president continues to be successful, as I know that he will be, the politics will take care of itself. We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
Vance then said he was as “sick of talking about politics” as everyone else after the election, and suggested, “Before we talk about anything three-and-a-half years down the road, let’s take a break from politics, focus on governing the country and when we return to politics it’s gonna be to focus on those midterm elections.”
NBC News host Kristen wasn’t to be batted off so easily, and asked, “Have you had any conversations with President Trump about him passing the torch onto you?”
Vance immediately let out a burst of laughter, and the smile remained on his face as he sidestepped directly answering the question.
“As you know, the president talks about everything. And if it’s in the news, the president and I have certainly discussed it,” he said.
After outlining that both he and Trump were simply focused on “doing a good job for the American people” for now, Vance then repeated his statement that if things went well “the politics will take care of itself.”
While Trump himself is remaining tight-lipped about who might one day fill his shoes, it seems that Vance is the clear front-runner in the eyes of MAGA voters.
In a J.L. Partners poll given to the New York Post, 46 percent of registered voters said they’d back Vance to succeed to leadership of the GOP in 2028—no other candidate even got into the double figures.
Within the White House, however, things might not be quite as clear-cut.
Back in May, Trump took his own turn talking about the “strong” future of the GOP on Meet the Press, and suggested that alongside Vance, Marco Rubio was a frontrunner.
And, there‘s always the possibility that Trump might not want to give up his throne at all.
The president has frequently dropped hints that he might run for a third term, and earlier this month said he‘d “like to run” for four more years in the White House.
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