“Just eight months after President Trump picked J.D. Vance to be his vice president, Vance is already positioned to be MAGA’s heir apparent for 2028,” Axios reports.
Said Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN): “I think it’s inevitable at this point that Vance will be the nominee in 2028. He’s the future of the America First movement and he’s already proven himself.”
“Many of Trump’s longest-serving aides and most fervent supporters now see the vice president as the vehicle to lock in Trump’s worldview for at least the next decade. In their view, Trump broke the old Republican Party — and Vance can finish building the new one.”
The notion that MAGA supporters are already looking to anoint JD Vance as their candidate for the 2028 presidential election reflects a significant shift in the political landscape.
Vance, who was once a “never Trump” figure, has gained substantial support from MAGA stalwarts. His combative style and unwavering fealty to Trump’s vision have endeared him to the Trump base. And prominent figures like Sen. Jim Banks and Donald Trump Jr. have expressed strong support for Vance, viewing him as the future of the America First movement.
Vance, who won a straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference with 61%, further solidifying his position as a frontrunner for the 2028 nomination, is attempting to bridge the gap between the tech right and the populist right within the MAGA coalition. This effort could bolster his position as a unifying figure within the party.
However, despite growing support, Vance still faces the challenge of earning Trump’s explicit endorsement. Trump has hinted that it’s too early to declare Vance his heir apparent.
“I’m a ‘Never Trump’ guy,” Vance said in an interview with Charlie Rose in 2016 while publicizing his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.” “I never liked him.”
“As somebody who doesn’t like Trump, myself, I sort of — I understand where Trump’s voters come from,” Vance later said in the Rose interview. “But I also don’t like Trump himself, and that made me realize that maybe I’m not quite part of either world totally.”