--- title: Trump Calls Vance His ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Heir description: The President also suggested Marco Rubio could run with Vance in 2028. canonical: https://time.com/7307781/trump-vance-maga-heir-marco-rubio-2028-third-term-successor/ author: Miranda Jeyaretnam article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-08-06T03:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-11T01:38:45.272Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Calls Vance His ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Heir og:description: The President also suggested Marco Rubio could run with Vance in 2028. og:url: https://time.com/7307781/trump-vance-maga-heir-marco-rubio-2028-third-term-successor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6a8e368d4d2e495/6998c8cf1f6709ca8df56a0a/trump-vance.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Trump Signs An Executive Order In The White House's South Court Auditorium og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Calls Vance His ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Heir twitter:description: The President also suggested Marco Rubio could run with Vance in 2028. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta6a8e368d4d2e495/6998c8cf1f6709ca8df56a0a/trump-vance.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Calls J.D. Vance ‘Most Likely’ Heir to MAGA Movement  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Aug 6, 2025 3:00 AM UTC  President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at an event to establish a task force for the 2028 Olympic Games in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on August 5, 2025. President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance at an event to establish a task force for the 2028 Olympic Games in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., on August 5, 2025.Win McNamee—Getty Images  by [Miranda Jeyaretnam](https://time.com/author/miranda-jeyaretnam/)  ## Miranda Jeyaretnam Reporter Aug 6, 2025 3:00 AM UTC President Donald Trump may be looking at Vice President J.D. Vance to take the reins of his Make America Great Again movement in the future. “Well, I think most likely,” Trump [said](https://www.c-span.org/clip/white-house-event/president-trump-says-vance-and-rubio-could-be-heirs-to-maga-movement/5169326) when asked if Vance was MAGA’s heir-apparent at a White House event on Tuesday. “In all fairness, he’s the Vice President.” He also suggested that Marco Rubio—who currently serves as the Secretary of State, acting National Security Adviser, and acting Archivist of the U.S.—could join Vance on a future Republican ticket as “somebody that maybe would get together with J.D. in some form.” But he stopped short of endorsing any specific candidate for 2028. It’s the closest Trump has come to explicitly backing Vance for a future presidential run. When he was asked in February if he viewed Vance as his successor, Trump [said](https://www.foxnews.com/video/6368618661112), “No, but he’s very capable.” Trump said at the time that it was “too early” to think about 2028. “I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here,” Trump said Tuesday, while he stood near Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi, among others. “So it’s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he’s doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.” Trump had previously [named Vance and Rubio](https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-elevates-marco-rubio-jd-vance-potential-successors-2028-rcna205189) as potential successors in May. Trump’s latest comment comes after Rubio [said](https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/07/secretary-of-state-marco-rubio-with-lara-trump-of-fox-news) last month that Vance “would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that.” Rubio, who [ran for President in 2016](https://time.com/3819977/marco-rubio-campaign-launch/), downplayed his own presidential ambitions in an interview with Fox News, saying that he was focused on his current role as Secretary of State and would be satisfied if that was the “apex” of his public service career. Still, he added, “you never know what the future holds; you never rule things out.” It also comes after Trump said Tuesday on CNBC that he [would “probably not” run again for President](https://time.com/7307562/trump-third-term-constitution/). The President and his allies have [floated the idea](https://time.com/7282460/will-trump-seek-a-third-term-as-president-comments-plan-successor-talk/) of a [third term](https://time.com/7281485/is-trump-seeking-a-third-term-rally-comments-election-denial/) on several occasions. Doing so is barred by the Constitution’s 22nd Amendment, but Trump has [repeatedly teased](https://time.com/7222820/trump-third-term-president-explainer-pathways-constitution-courts-legal-experts/) that there are “methods” he could employ to get around that. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/7307781/trump-vance-maga-heir-marco-rubio-2028-third-term-successor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/7307781/trump-vance-maga-heir-marco-rubio-2028-third-term-successor/"},"headline":"Trump Calls J.D. 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