Donald Trump, JD Vance
US President Donald Trump has declined to endorse Vice President JD Vance as his successor in the 2028 presidential election, despite Vance saying he expects to receive Trump's backing if he decides to run.Asked whether he viewed Vance as his successor and the Republican nominee for 2028, Trump replied, “No.” He then described Vance as “a very capable” person, adding that there were several capable people who could potentially succeed him.Trump's remarks came after Vance said he believed the president would endorse him if he entered the race, while also acknowledging that he had not discussed the possibility with Trump.
What Trump said about Vance
During the exchange, Trump was asked directly whether he saw Vance as his political successor and the Republican Party's nominee in 2028. His response was an unambiguous “No”, followed by a more favourable assessment of the vice president's abilities.
“But he is a very capable, You know you have a lot of capable people,” Trump said.The remarks stop short of ruling out Vance as a potential successor, but Trump did not commit to backing him for the Republican nomination.
Vance expects Trump's backing but leaves room for a contest
Vance, meanwhile, said he believed Trump would endorse him if he decided to contest the 2028 presidential election.“Look, I think if I run, the president will endorse me,” Vance said during an interview.
Asked whether Trump would endorse him immediately after an announcement, Vance said he expected to receive the president's support but acknowledged that he had not discussed the matter with him.“I would think so, but I don't know, man. I haven't talked to him about it,” Vance said.He also suggested that Trump's endorsement would not necessarily need to determine the outcome of the Republican nomination contest.“I mean, again, I think I would get his endorsement. But I also think there's something to be said for people actually running their own race,” Vance said.He added that Trump's endorsement carried considerable weight and that the president could allow the nomination contest to unfold without backing a candidate at the outset.“Because the president's endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, you know what we need? Let this race play out and not preemptively prejudge the results.”The contrasting remarks leave Trump's position on the 2028 Republican race unclear. While Vance has expressed confidence that he would secure the president's endorsement, Trump has so far declined to publicly designate him as his successor.