Anonymous White House sources claim President Donald Trump has effectively thrown his support behind Vice President JD Vance over Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his preferred successor for the 2028 presidential race.
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Multiple White House aides told Axios that Trump has come down on Vance’s side, with one source saying “JD is earning it, and Trump sees it,” and another claiming “POTUS isn’t asking, ‘JD or Marco?’ anymore,” the Daily Beast reports.
Trump has publicly declined to back either man, as recently as June 3 telling the New York Post that both are “great” with “a long time left” before 2028. The anonymous claims come from Axios, which has increasingly served as a conduit for pro-Trump briefings since the president retook the White House.
Vance has been building his public profile, publishing a new memoir, raising roughly $70 million for the Republican National Committee, and conducting more than 30 interviews last month. He also played a role in brokering a provisional agreement to end Trump’s conflict with Iran in June, alongside Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.
Rubio, meanwhile, has repeatedly denied presidential ambitions and said he would back Vance if the vice president runs. “Marco doesn’t have pipe hitters. Vance does,” a Rubio ally told Axios. The Daily Beast said it contacted Vance’s office for comment.
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