Vice President JD Vance says President Donald Trump would be “very supportive” of whatever decision he makes about whether to run for president in 2028, but Vance says he and his wife, Usha Vance, have not yet settled on a plan and will consider it after this
JD Vance didn’t try to hand anyone a timeline—he just offered reassurance that whatever he decides next, President Donald Trump won’t stand in the way.
Speaking to CBS Sunday Morning alongside his wife, second lady Usha Vance, the vice president said he believes Trump will be “very supportive” of his eventual choice about whether to launch a bid to replace him at the next presidential election in 2028.
“I have no doubt that the president of the United States is going to be very supportive of anything that I ultimately decide to do,” Vance said. Then he added the part that still leaves the political question unanswered: “But we really just haven’t talked about what that thing will be.”
The moment matters because Vance—41 years old—has increasingly been treated as a natural next step in Trump world. He’s been making behind-the-scenes moves. and in certain circles he has earned the status of “MAGA’s heir apparent.” Yet the vice president still won’t confirm whether he intends to run in 2028. saying that he and Usha Vance plan to “consider the possibility after this year’s midterms.”.
The answer. for now. is that they will talk about what comes next “after this year’s midterms. ” and Vance framed his decision-making in personal terms rather than campaign terms. “Usha and I will absolutely sit down and talk about what comes next for our family,” he said on Sunday. “The way I make decisions is, I try not to make them until I absolutely must.”.
Trump has stopped short of formally endorsing Vance as his successor, but his comments have increasingly moved in that direction. In an interview with Fox News in February of last year. Trump praised Vance as “very capable” while declining to anoint him. “So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said. “But it’s too early.”.
By spring, Trump began mentioning Vance among possible successors. In March. there were suggestions that a path to a third term for Trump could include Vance seeking the presidency with Trump as his running mate. a scenario that many legal scholars said would still violate the Constitution’s presidential term limits.
When Trump has been pressed about who he hopes will succeed him, he has also repeatedly brought up Secretary of State Marco Rubio. At times, Trump even conducted informal crowd polls to gauge the relative support the two members of his cabinet enjoy.
The conversation around 2028 has included Rubio from the beginning, not just as a teammate possibility but as a contender. In an interview with NBC News in February 2026. Trump said he hadn’t considered endorsing Vance in a 2028 primary. but would “probably” do so. He also said that a joint Vance-Rubio ticket—whoever leads it—would be “very hard to be beaten.”.
“JD is fantastic and Marco is fantastic,” Trump said, later adding that “one is slightly more diplomatic than the other.”
Trump has returned to the idea in more recent remarks as well, including during a podcast appearance where he said that if Vance and Rubio chose to run together, the combination “would be very unbeatable.”
Even with Trump’s public warmth, the political math is still unsettled. In averages of surveys gathered by RacetotheWH to simulate a theoretical 2028 GOP primary, Vance holds a significant lead over Rubio and other potential hopefuls such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump Jr.
Zoom out, and the picture complicates. Recent polls show Vance could struggle in hypothetical matchups against a range of Democratic figures. with one poll from Overton Insights giving California Governor Gavin Newsom a five-point edge over the vice president. Other results show Vance losing against former Vice President Harris, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
On the Democratic side. the latest polling suggests Harris is the eventual choice. but none of the potential candidates—Harris included—have yet confirmed they will run for president in 2028. Vance himself remains the missing piece in the timeline. with the expectation of a run still hanging on whether he decides that the time is “absolutely” necessary.
The through-line from Sunday is that the endorsement question has an answer in principle. even if it’s not settled in practice. Trump says he would back whatever Vance chooses. Vance says he has not decided what he will choose—and that the next conversation with his wife will come only after the midterms.
Behind the scenes, expectations are building. At the front of the story, Vance is keeping the door open while he waits for the calendar to force the decision.
JD Vance Donald Trump Usha Vance 2028 election CBS Sunday Morning MAGA Marco Rubio RacetotheWH Overton Insights Gavin Newsom Kamala Harris Pete Buttigieg Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Ron DeSantis