Trump says JD Vance is 'most likely' heir to his political movement

Kate Sullivan, Bloomberg News on Aug 5, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Vice President JD Vance was “most likely” the heir-apparent to his Make America Great Again movement, but added there were also other potential candidates and that it was too early to make that call.

Trump during a White House event on Tuesday was asked about comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Fox News that Vance “would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that.”

“I think most likely — in all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump said when asked if Vance was the heir-apparent to his movement. “I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”

“I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here,” Trump added. “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.”

Earlier Tuesday in an interview with CNBC, Trump said he would “probably not” seek a third term. Trump still holds a tight grip on the Republican party in his second administration. While he has previously publicly floated both Vance and Rubio — onetime critics turned loyalists — as potential heirs, he has so far refused to anoint a successor ahead of the 2028 campaign.

Trump, 79, and his allies have teased exploring a third term, though that is barred by the Constitution.

The president in February, weeks after retaking power, had said “no” when asked if he viewed Vance as his successor, saying it was too early at that time to make such a determination.

Vance, a former U.S. senator from Ohio, embraced Trump’s brand of economic populism, rising to become his running mate in 2024. Trump had a falling out with his first vice president, Mike Pence, who refused to block the certification of former President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.