While speaking with Fox Business, former Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump appeared to indicate that Vice President JD Vance will indeed receive President Trump’s endorsement to be the successor to the MAGA movement in 2028.
The president’s daughter-in-law pointed to Vance’s youth as a key selling point in his viability as a successor to the movement. “He’s just over 40, I think Usha is 39. So yes, they’re young, which is terrifying to the Democrats,” Lara told Fox Business host Stuart Varney.
“Imagine, Stuart, we kept what we’ve seen happen over the past 10 years going for the next eight years, which is what a lot of people believe is going to happen, that the Democrats are in such a bad spot with no leader, no message, and nothing that the American people are interested in,” she continued. “That once Donald Trump ends his term, and we love the Trump 2028 hats, don’t kid yourself, I know everybody, especially a lot of Democrats love those, then it will be JD Vance for the next eight years.”
Trump added that the prospect of Vance’s candidacy is “terrifying” for Democrats, as the party is currently projected to hold a tightly-contested presidential primary that will pin multiple candidate against each other in 2028.
Vice President Vance has held a commanding polling lead in 2028 surveys as President Trump’s second term moves towards the one-year mark. According to the RealClearPolitics polling average, Vance currently leads the field of hypothetical by a whopping 36.7 percentage points.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who unsuccessfully launched a White House bid in 2024, comes in second with just 10.3 percent, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio trails just behind with 9.3 percent.
Rubio appeared to suggest that he will be backing Vance’s campaign for president while speaking with Fox News back in July. “Well I think J.D. Vance would be a great nominee. And if, you know, if he decides he wants to do that. And so, you know, I think he’s doing a great job as vice president. He’s a close friend and I hope he intends to do it,” Rubio he said.
President Trump himself has also indicated that Vance is the likely successor to the MAGA movement once his second term comes to an end in 2029. “Well, I think most likely,” Trump told reporters this past August when asked whether Vance was the heir apparent to his movement. “In all fairness, he’s the vice president.”