President Donald Trump's two most trusted administration members could be his picks to succeed him for president in 2028, Semafor reported. The president named Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as strong candidates.
Trump clearly places a great deal of trust in Vance and Rubio. He picked both out of the Senate, with Vance becoming his running mate during the presidential election.
As for Rubio, Trump has conferred considerable responsibility on him in a short amount of time. Besides being the Secretary of State, Rubio is also currently a national security adviser, acting USAID director, and as archivist for the US.
Some are predicting that a bitter rivalry could erupt between the two men, given their high profile. However, there's also a possibility that Vance, who is the logical choice as the vice president, could turn to Rubio, who ran against Trump in 2016, to share a ticket.
People in Trump's orbit acknowledge that the dynamics within the administration are solidly cooperative rather than officials jockeying for position. White House communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement that the president "has built the most impressive and most capable Administration in history."
There doesn't seem to be rivalry between Vance and Rubio or anyone else. “Vice President Vance, Secretary Rubio, and the entire Cabinet are working tirelessly to implement the America First policies that Americans voted for, which has led to unprecedented successes in just four months," Cheung added.
Rubio and Vance recently collaborated with Trump duirng a meeting with the Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who was newly elected. "He just loves to stir the pot, doesn’t he?" Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) said of Trump, implying this was a strategic move to raise their profiles.
"Rubio has the depth, but man, Vance seems to be picking it up fast, really fast. They’re both clearly on the short list, if they’re interested," Lummis added.
Others like Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) see that Trump seems to be grooming them both for something more. "The president really likes JD, and he’s very impressed with him. But now that he’s around Marco a lot, I think he sees how capable he is," Hoeven said.
This discussion about Trump's successor comes after the president's appearance on Meet the Press on Sunday. During his interview with Kristen Welker, Trump finally put to bed the rumors that he'll run for a third term, which he likely started himself as a way to goad the left.
"So many people want me to do it. It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do," Trump told Welker, according to Fox News.
"I don’t know if that’s constitutional. But this is not something I’m looking to do," Trump added. As far as he'd choose for his successor, Trump said it's "far too early" but said Vance's position certainly set him up nicely.
Trump has chosen stellar people to help him implement his agenda. While the leftist media wants to see Vance turn on Rubio during this time, it's clear that Republicans will have their pick for 2028 for a competent leader no matter which man takes the lead.
