(LifeSiteNews) – Vice President JD Vance gave his strongest hint yet about running for president in 2028 while tabling any firm answer until after the 2026 midterm elections.
Vance sat down with Fox News pundit Sean Hannity for a wide-ranging interview aired Thursday, during which the conversation turned to the future.
“I would say that I’ve thought about what that moment might look like after the midterm elections, sure,” Vance said. “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.”
“I really want us to win the midterms because, if the Democrats get in power, they’re gonna try to screw up a lot of the great things the president of the United States has done over the past 10 months,” he continued. “Again, trees that have been planted, some of which won’t even bear fruit for a few years. I don’t want the Democrats to screw that up. So we’re going to win the midterms, we’re going to do everything that we can to win the midterms, and then after that, I’m going to sit down with the president of the United States and talk to him about it.”
JUST IN — VP Vance addresses potential 2028 presidential run in exclusive @seanhannity interview: “We’re gonna win the midterms. We’re gonna do everything that we can to win the midterms. And then after that, I’m gonna sit down with the president of the United States and talk to… pic.twitter.com/WNelaoph2D
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 14, 2025
While polls mean little three years ahead of an election, as President Donald Trump’s hand-picked second-in-command, Vance is widely presumed to be the frontrunner for the GOP’s 2028 nomination, with many expecting a de facto coronation rather than a competitive primary.
Some conservatives, discontented with Vance’s more populist bent on economics and foreign affairs, have suggested Secretary of State Marco Rubio for president instead, given his record of more conventional Republican stances on the free market and hawkish defense policy. Apart from such divisions on topics such as trade policy, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and America’s relationship with Israel, neither man is entirely pure from a conservative perspective – on the 2024 campaign trail, Vance echoed Trump’s support for keeping abortion pills legal, and during Rubio’s time in the Senate, he notoriously supported the failed “Gang of 8” amnesty plan.
Regardless, Rubio has so far rebuffed such talk, deferring to Vance as a “great nominee” and expressing hope that he runs. Some, including Trump, have suggested the two join forces on a ticket, a distinct possibility given each man’s warm remarks about the other.
“People have asked me, ‘Well, you know, do you see Marco as a rival?” Vance told Hannity. “First of all, if either one of us end up running, it’s a long, long ways in the future, and neither of us is entitled to it. So, I think it would be ridiculous for me to say, ‘Well, Marco is a rival.’ No, no, no. Marco’s a colleague. The president of the United States has asked each of us to do two very important jobs, and that’s what we should focus on.”
Ultimately, next year’s midterms may dramatically impact how Republicans approach 2028, including the prospects of another standard-bearer tied to the current administration. Trump’s approval ratings are currently 14.8 points underwater on the economy and 25.5 points underwater on inflation, according to RealClearPolitics polling averages, though recently announced tariff relief on a number of food items could alleviate some discontent.
For the midterms, RaceToTheWH currently gives Democrats a 62% chance to retake the House of Representatives, and Republicans a 64.8% chance of holding on to the Senate.
