In a recent interview aired on July 26th, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio praised Vice President JD Vance as an “excellent candidate” for the 2028 presidential election. Rubio, speaking to Fox News host Lara Trump, expressed his admiration for Vance’s performance as Vice President, referring to him as a close friend and a potential contender for the presidency in the future, although he acknowledged it was premature to make such declarations.
Rubio himself is also considered a popular figure who may run for office, and he did not rule out the possibility. “Honestly, you can never predict the future, so you can never rule out any options because you simply don’t know. Things change in an instant,” he said.
Rubio and Vance are seen as potential successors to Donald Trump in continuing the “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) movement. In May of this year, during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” President Trump mentioned that both Vance and Rubio were potential successors in his mind.
When asked about the future of the MAGA movement, Trump remarked, “Look at Marco, look at JD Vance, they are great. I could sit here right now and mention 10, 15, or even 20 names.”
This marked the first time Trump explicitly named Rubio as a potential successor, sparking speculation about whether there would be an internal power struggle between Vance and Rubio.
On May 1st, Trump appointed Rubio as Acting National Security Advisor, replacing Mike Waltz, while maintaining his position as Secretary of State. This made Rubio the first high-ranking official to hold two positions since Henry Kissinger in the 1970s.
While Trump highly praised both Rubio and Vance, he hinted that as the current Vice President, Vance may have a greater advantage in 2028. “Marco is a great person, and there are many outstanding candidates,” Trump said. “But if someone is already the Vice President and performs exceptionally, he naturally has a certain advantage.”
Vance is now widely seen as the front-runner for the Republican nomination in 2028. A poll conducted by Emerson College in June showed Vance leading in a hypothetical party primary with 46% support, far ahead of Rubio’s 12% and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ 9%.
Rubio and Trump engaged in a fierce contest during the 2016 Republican primaries. Rubio recalled the intense atmosphere of the debates at the time, likening them to a combat sport. “I really like combat sports, especially MMA and boxing,” he told Lara Trump. “When two people go in there and fight, it’s something that can be admired. You see them shake hands and respect each other after the match. You have to respect someone willing to step into the octagon.”
He also mentioned that prior to running for president in 2016, he had no personal relationship with Trump, but after the election, he became a staunch supporter. “President Trump’s first term was my most productive four years in the Senate. We achieved many goals together,” he said.
“I am also happy to provide assistance during the campaign. He chose one of my closest friends in politics, JD Vance, to serve as Vice President, and they make a great team. Since then, we have been part of the same team, and we still are.”
Rubio also commended Trump’s leadership style and intuition. “In private, he’s actually very humorous, and I believe he has extraordinary intuition,” Rubio said. “I have witnessed firsthand multiple times how this is one of the most underestimated qualities in his leadership. He has a keen observation of human nature and behavior, and he can cleverly apply it to political judgments and international situation analysis.”