Donald Trump was asked about who he would like to see representing Republicans at the top of the ticket for the 2028 presidential election.
Despite repeatedly expressing interest in running for the office again, the 79-year-old president is constitutionally barred from serving a third term. Instead, he’ll need to choose a successor capable of leading his MAGA movement into the future.
As questions continue to swirl about the next presidential election, three names have emerged as potential frontrunners amongst Republicans — Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump‘s son Donald Trump Jr.
Donald was asked to choose between the three during an interview with Fortune, with the outlet noting that he was asked the question while Vance was in the room.
As has become the norm, the president opted out of selecting one name above the others.
“Whoever gets this [job] is going to be very important,” he demurred. “And if you get the wrong person: disaster.”?
According to reporting by The New York Times, a recent poll shows a sudden turn toward support for Rubio as the future of the Republican party. Although Vance was the decisive victor in 14 previous polls, including one where he received 60% of the votes, he trailed the secretary of state by 15 points in the most recent, which was conducted by AtlasIntel in early May.
The most recent poll showed Donald Jr. receiving 0% of the vote. However, in one past poll, he came in second place, behind Vance, with 20%.
Another name that has polled fairly strongly is current Florida governor, Ron DeSantis. The most recent poll saw him receive 11% of the vote. In March 2026, the politician coyly addressed the possibility of him running for the office again.
While on Hang Out with Sean Hannity, DeSantis was asked if he was interested in giving the campaign trail another shot after having to suspend his campaign in 2024 to throw his support behind Donald. “We’ll see,” he replied.
He reflected on the 2024 race, saying that he had many people tell him that he was their second choice behind the president.
“I think that, you know, in ’24… Like in Iowa, the people that voted for Trump, if he wasn’t running, I would have gotten like 90% of those people. They were conservative voters, right? They didn’t want the non-conservative that, you know. They wanted me,” he opined, adding that the timing “didn’t work out.”
Earlier this month, Donald conducted an informal poll of his own while speaking to a crowd. He asked them to voice support for either Vance or Rubio as the top of the ticket, adding that the two of them together was “a dream.”
Vance addressed any building political pressure between himself and Rubio, saying that he viewed the Cabinet member as a “very, very dear friend,” per Politico.
While speaking to Fortune, Donald was asked if he thought that his successor would be able to continue negotiating “America-first deals” in the same manner as he has.
“Can’t answer that question,” he replied. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s not going to happen again.”
Posted To:Donald Trump Donald Trump Jr. JD Vance Marco Rubio Politics
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