Vice President JD Vance denied on Tuesday that there is tension between himself and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as both men are eyed as possible 2028 presidential rivals.
Vance described Rubio as “my closest friend” in the Trump administration, and said he was focused on filling out the remainder of his vice presidential term, as opposed to crafting a 2028 campaign.
“I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict,” Vance said during a Fox News interview.
“Marco’s doing a great job. I’m trying to do as good of a job as I can. The president’s doing a great job. We’re going to keep on working together,” he told Fox News host Martha MacCallum on The Story, speaking to the two men’s relationship with President Donald Trump. “I think the president is very smartly saying we’ve got three years to go, and how about everybody focuses on the job the American people elected us to do rather than something that is very far in the future.”
Trump has been pressed repeatedly on who he will back to be the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2028. However, the president has consistently declined to back a candidate, most recently telling reporters on Monday that both Vance and Rubio are “fantastic.”
“I think Marco did a great job in Munich,” Trump said, referring to Rubio’s highly anticipated address to NATO partners at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend. “JD is fantastic. And Marco — they’re both fantastic. … It’s something I don’t have to worry about now. I’ve got three years to go.”
Rubio has run for president before, against Trump in 2016. Vance has already secured an endorsement from Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk without having announced a run yet. Last October, Trump suggested that the two could comprise an “unstoppable” ticket.
THE ODD COUPLE: VANCE AND RUBIO STICK TOGETHER THROUGH 2028 SPECULATION
“We have JD, obviously, the vice president, who’s great. Marco’s great. I’m not sure if anyone would run against those two. I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable,” he said.
On the Democratic side, names ranging from Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), JB Pritzker (D-IL), and Andy Beshear (D-KY) have been floated as possible contenders for the Democratic nomination, as have Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
