Republicans saw “signs” earlier this year that President Donald Trump was leaning toward Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his 2028 pick — but insiders told Politico Thursday the president is “privately changing his tone” on his preferred successor.
In March, Reuters reported that some Republicans saw Rubio as the likely successor to lead the reshaped Republican Party, with one White House insider telling the outlet that even Trump’s “body language” suggested as much. Vice President JD Vance had also reportedly been at odds with the president over his decision to attack Iran, and had performed poorly in hypothetical 2028 matchups with leading Democratic candidates.
However, according to two inside sources who spoke with Politico, Trump appeared to have shifted his thinking on who his successor might be.
“Inside the White House, two people familiar tell Playbook the president has scaled back his Vance vs. Marco Rubio polling, and is privately changing his tone when talking about Vance in recent months, saying he’ll be the nominee,” Politico’s report reads. “The people familiar said Vance’s book tour impressed Trump. And Rubio himself appears to be clearing the way.”
But Trump’s blessing could come at a steep price for Vance.
“And much like the war, Vance could inherit the increasingly heavy baggage dragging down the president and fraying the coalition he needs to maintain,” Politico’s report reads.
Vance has spent much of the year raising his public profile, promoting a new memoir about his faith and taking a lead role in negotiating an end to the Iran war — efforts that reportedly “caught Trump’s eye” even as the conflict remained unpopular with voters. Rubio, meanwhile, has downplayed his own ambitions for the Oval Office, repeatedly saying he would back Vance if the vice president decides to run.
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