President Donald Trump has reportedly told Republican donors "we need to elect JD," privately backing JD Vance for the 2028 US Presidential election.
The news comes as per the Washington Post, with the news source reporting a private conversation between Trump and the donors. Publicly, the President has been much less bullish on his support for Vance, describing the VP as "great" but asserting it is "much too early" to be discussing 2028.
Vance's main competition in the Republican Party is Marco Rubio. He gained some popularity over the Summer in part due to his role in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. He also had a central part in the Iran conflict and mediating Israel-Lebanon talks. Trump publicly referred to him as "the best secretary of state in the country's history."
Notably, Trump seems to have U-turned on an earlier position regarding Vance. According to reports in May, he publicly told Vance that he had his endorsement "under no circumstance."
“JD Vance is sitting at around 22% at the time of writing compared to Rubio's 12%”
This tracks with the numbers on Polymarket. The odds between JD Vance and Marco Rubio for the Presidential Election Winner 2028 market are now the furthest apart they have been since the beginning of May. JD Vance is sitting at around 22% at the time of writing compared to Rubio's 12%, a ten-point gap.
Trump is also among the candidates for this market, sitting at a modest 2% for the election. The current President jokingly donned a Trump 2028 cap at the recent White House Correspondents' Dinner, claiming he intended to run for a "fourth term." As per the 22nd Amendment, a President can not serve more than two terms.