Vice President Vance said in a recent interview that he doesn’t think he’s entitled to a presidential bid in 2028, defending his relationship with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also considered a potential White House contender.
Vance, in an interview with NBC News, dismissed the idea that there is friction with Rubio, while the two traveled together to the Vatican for the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV last week.
“I can just feel it — the media is going to start telling some story of me versus Marco or me having a rivalry with Marco,” Vance said he told a political consultant recently, adding that he talks to Rubio five times a day.
“That’s the level of trust and confidence that I have in Marco,” the vice president added.
“My attitude is, if I do end up running in 2028, I’m not entitled to it,” Vance continued. “But I really think that Marco and I can get a lot done together over the next few years. That’s how I think about our friendship and our relationship. And I would be shocked if he thought about it any differently.”
Rubio was tapped to add national security adviser to his titles earlier this month, replacing Mike Waltz, who is now the nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations. Rubio ran for the Republican nomination in 2016 but suspended his campaign after President Trump won the Florida GOP primary.
The two top Trump administration officials both served in the Senate and are considered possible successors to the president.
Vance’s clout has been on the rise while he has taken on the role of pot-stirrer at the White House and on the world stage. Trump has declined to endorse his No. 2 as the Republican nominee in 2028, though he said Vance is “very capable,” which prompted Vance to argue that it’s too early for Trump to back someone.
The president meanwhile has flirted with the idea of running for a third term but told Time magazine in an interview last month that he won’t be looking into “loopholes” to do so.
He also did not directly respond when asked whether he would run as vice president on the 2028 Republican ticket with Vance.
“I don’t know anything about, what, look, all I can say is this, I am being inundated with requests,” Trump said in the interview.