J.D. Vance downplayed Donald Trump’s comments about succession and a “good ticket,” as polling shows rising support for Marco Rubio in 2028.
Donald Trump is already stirring the pot on the 2028 presidential race, and J.D. Vance’s reaction suggests he’s trying to keep the focus on governing rather than the drama.
At a recent White House event, the president turned to the crowd to gauge how Republican voters might lean by election time. Vance, who has been widely viewed as one of the leading contenders for the party’s nomination, said he isn’t reading too much into Trump’s “toying” with the public.
The exchange came during a press conference on Wednesday, May 13, when CNN’s Kit Maher asked Vance whether Trump is playing games about his succession. Maher pointed to a Rose Garden appearance on Monday, May 11, where Trump spoke directly to the public about who might be next.
Vance responded by pushing back on the premise that the remarks were something more strategic than political banter. He joked that it would be hard to imagine “a televised competition” over who would succeed Trump as his “apprentice,” and said that isn’t what the president would be expected to do.
He also argued that Trump’s commentary shouldn’t be taken too seriously. describing the president as someone who has long been captivated by politics well before running for office.. In Vance’s view. it’s natural for Trump to joke with would-be successors and play with the idea—while still being focused on the job at hand.
As Maher noted, Trump’s Rose Garden stop included a crowd prompt about voter preferences in the years ahead. The president asked people, “Who likes J.D. Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” before adding that the two would make “a good ticket.”
Trump later clarified the tone of the moment, telling the crowd that it was a “dream team” idea while also insisting that it did not amount to an endorsement under any circumstance. Still, the comments kept both Vance and Rubio in the spotlight as potential top names within the Republican pipeline.
The Rose Garden remarks weren’t an isolated reference. Earlier in May, Trump brought up both men during an interview with Meet the Press moderator Kristen Welker, describing them as part of a “tremendous group of people” and saying, “You look at Marco, you look at J.D. Vance, who’s fantastic.”
While Vance downplayed the significance of Trump’s latest public gestures, the political noise appears to be landing with Republican voters. A new AtlasIntel poll found that 45.4% of Republican respondents favor Marco Rubio as the party’s 2028 nominee.
In that same poll, Vance—previously viewed by many projections as the frontrunner—placed second with 29.6%. Ron DeSantis finished third among respondents at 11.2%.
For Vance, the challenge is managing attention in a race where candidates can be pulled into speculative talk before any formal nomination process begins. Even if he believes Trump is merely joking, the public act of “testing” voter sentiment can quickly translate into real movement in perception.
The timing also matters: Trump has already framed the conversation around specific names in multiple settings. including both the Rose Garden and televised remarks earlier in May.. That repeated pairing of Rubio and Vance helps keep the succession discussion from staying in the background. regardless of how strongly any candidate insists it’s not meant to be taken as a formal signal.
J.D. Vance Donald Trump 2028 election Marco Rubio Ron DeSantis Republican nomination political polling