Trump tells donors ‘We need to elect JD,’ backs Vance for 2028

Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to perform strongly in early polling.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Donald Trump privately told donors that he believes Vice President JD Vance should be the Republican nominee for president in 2028, The Washington Post reported, even as Secretary of State Marco Rubio continues to perform strongly in early polling and speculation grows over who Trump will ultimately support.

“At the end of the day, we need to elect JD,” Trump said during an Oval Office meeting with donors roughly two weeks ago, according to a source with knowledge of the remarks who spoke to The Washington Post on condition of anonymity.

The reported comments come as Republicans increasingly discuss the party’s next presidential nominee, although the race is not expected to begin in earnest until after this autumn’s midterm elections.

Trump made only one public reference to Vance during a donor speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, praising his vice president’s work by saying, “the war on fraud led by our great Vice President JD Vance: He’s doing a great job.”

While vice presidents have often emerged as the leading contenders for their party’s presidential nomination, Rubio has also gained traction in early measures of support.

The former Florida senator, who was one of more than a dozen Republicans defeated by Trump during the 2016 presidential primary campaign, finished a close second to Vance earlier this year in the closely watched 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC.

Vance has publicly downplayed discussion of a presidential campaign while emphasizing his current responsibilities in office.

In November 2025, Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Vance directly about his plans for 2028.

“I would say that I’ve thought about what that moment might look like after the midterm elections, sure, but I also, whenever I think about that, I try to put it out of my head and remind myself the American people elected me to do a job right now. And my job is to do it,” Vance said.

Trump has not publicly endorsed a candidate for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination beyond his praise of Vance during recent appearances.