If the 2028 election were to be held today, one name would be running away with the party’s nomination, Tucker Carlson predicted earlier this week.
The brash conservative media personality observed that the race to succeed President Donald Trump will hinge on who the MAGA faithful believe to be the requisite standard-bearer for their movement, which has solidified its hold over the Republican Party’s apparatus and appears unlikely to relinquish control anytime soon.
Carlson’s commentary came while appearing on a podcast where he discussed Trump’s first 100 days as well as his belief that Vice President J.D. Vance will walk away with the GOP’s nomination in 2028.
“I think people want to leave a legacy, all of us do, and great men especially do. And the only person in the entire Republican Party from my position who’s capable of carrying on the Trump legacy and expanding it, making it what it should fully be, is JD Vance,” said Carlson, whose oldest son currently serves in the press office of Vance.
“I think his loyalty is without question and his service to Trump has been profound. So I’m assuming that was just like a phrase that you feel you have to use,” Carlson continued.
As the Trump-Vance administration closes out its first 100 days, Carlson’s renewed optimism about the vice president’s future is a marked difference from comments the President made back in February when he said “a lot of very capable people” will be running in 2028. Trump declined to endorse Vance at the time.
Podcast host Vince Coglianese drew attention to Carlson’s past distancing from Vance and suggested the comments may have helped keep the media’s focus on Trump’s first 100 days rather than the 2028 race, a point with which Carlson concurred.
“That’s exactly right and there’s a lot that will happen between now and then … there’s no one else [to carry on Trump’s legacy],” Carlson added. “And I think, already, I mean, it’s a tough gig for any vice president, this one included … But he has been a powerful partner for Trump. I don’t see any other, at this point, as of today, any other conceivable option. I think JD Vance will be the nominee.”
Last month, Mediaite reported that Donald Trump Jr. was privately floating the idea of mounting his own bid for president, a suggestion he refuted while also lifting up Vice President Vance.
“I accurately predicted that my buddy JD would be an instant power player in national GOP politics, so your theory is that I worked my ass off to help get him the VP nomination because I want to run for president in 2028?” he wrote in a statement to the outlet. “Are you f**king retarded? I’m actually glad you’re printing this bulls**t though because at least now the rest of the press corps will see how shi**y your ‘sources’ are and how easily you’re played by them. Congrats, moron.”
Strategist Mark Halperin, speaking after the election, noted that Vance was a bullish choice by Trump specifically because of his pugnacious ability to corner opponents on the debate stage or in media scrums.
“Unlike [former Vice President] Kamala Harris, I don’t think there’s a show in America JD Vance would turn down by saying, ‘You know, I can’t do it,’ or, ‘I’m worried about the reception I’d get.’ That’s a huge advantage for him,” said Halperin.
“And if you look at the other people who are talked about as potential presidential candidates in both parties, [Democratic Pennsylvania] Governor Shapiro has been going on Fox News. He’s pretty confident about going places. The others, less so, and their performance level is just not that great,” he added.
A hypothetical poll of the GOP’s 2028 field last month showed Vance with a commanding lead over alternatives like Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, and Ron DeSantis.