Vice President J.D. Vance has emerged as President Donald Trump’s undisputed political successor to 2028, according to an Axios analysis, after a summer in which he brokered a tentative Iran peace deal, published a bestselling book and launched a media blitz that has emboldened the current US president.“JD is earning it, and Trump sees it,” a senior Trump adviser told Axios, adding that the other top Trump aide seen as a potential successor, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “was not planning to run in any way, and he would be even less likely to do so now.”For months, Trump has compared and nearly pitted Vance and Rubio against each other, asking advisers who they would prefer at the top of the 2028 ticket. That parlor game is now on hold. “POTUS isn’t asking, ‘Jedi or Marco?’ Not anymore,” said an insider. “He’s no longer asking, ‘How’s JD doing?’ He’s now saying, ‘JD looks great, doesn’t it?'”The turning point for Vance came in mid-June, when he and presidential envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff helped broker a memorandum of understanding with Iran, a step toward ending the war. The day before, Vance’s new book, “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” was published.Vance, who was already scheduled for a book tour, benefited from breaking-news attention to his role in the peace talks. He gave a total of 33 interviews in June, ranging from conservative podcasts to White House press briefings to meetings with HBO and ABC.One of Trump’s advisers said, “He (Trump) watched the clip and he liked what he saw.”Vance has achieved success in the fundraising campaign for the Republican National Committee and has contributed nearly $70 million, an important network he will use if he runs for president. Among Republicans, his net favorability rating is 62%, slightly below Trump’s 65% and well above Rubio’s 51%, according to polling released last month by Navigator Research.Vance is also ahead of other potential GOP rivals in national and early state polls.
Murdoch Dinner
A new book by Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, “Regime Change,” describes an October 16, 2025 dinner where Trump asked Rupert Murdoch to compare Vance and Rubio. The two men sat awkwardly at the table, with Murdoch being particularly more effusive about Rubio, calling him “brilliant”, while Vance had “the potential to be great”.The media mogul had tried to personally talk Trump into choosing Vance as his running mate in 2024.Rubio has made it clear that he has no desire to run a primary campaign for the presidency. He doesn’t have the infrastructure for a potential campaign like Vance does, namely a group of political consultants and insiders ready to work on his behalf.A Rubio aide said, “Marco doesn’t have pipe hitters. Vance does.” “JD is looking good. And everyone in the administration knows it.”