NEW: Trump Names Heir To MAGA Movement For 2028 Election

President Donald Trump parried with reporters on Tuesday eager to know if he would make an attempt at a third term, a long-shot possibility that he “probably” would not entertain, he said.

But when it comes to his heir apparent, Trump voiced no qualms about whom he thinks will walk away with the 2028 nomination of the Republican Party.

Like past cycles, the Republican Party’s presidential primary will be a rat race of former friends, longtime foes, and almost certainly some alums of his administration. The field has grown so large over the past decade that news networks have taken to holding two debate stages based on standings in the polls, with each accommodating up to 12 contenders.

If that’s the way 2028 shakes out, Vice President J.D. Vance is “probably favored” to enter the general election, Trump told Fox News’ Peter Doocy.

“You could clear the entire Republican field right now,” Doocy told Trump during his signing ceremony establishing the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics task force. “Do you agree that the heir-apparent to MAGA is JD Vance?”

In his answer, Trump suggested that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who ran against him in 2016, would be a great complement to Vance on his 2028 ticket.

“Well, I think most likely. In all fairness, he’s the vice president, and I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,” Trump replied.

“I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here. So it’s too early, obviously, to talk about it, but certainly he’s doing a great job,” he added. “And he would be probably favored at this point.”

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The president also recommended several other members of his cabinet who he thinks would be well received by a MAGA movement searching for its next leader.

Rubio has been deferential to Vance when asked about his presidential aspirations.

“I think JD Vance would be a great nominee if he decides he wants to do that,” he told Lara Trump in an interview that Fox aired last month.

He also made clear that he’s content with his day job running point for the administration on all foreign affairs and praised Vance for his ability to keep clear lines of communication open between President Trump and the millions of conservative activists who returned him to the White House.

For Democrats, 2028 will be a make-or-break election to decide the direction of the party after the dismal loss by former Vice President Kamala Harris, who said recently she will not run for governor of California in 2026 but left the door open for a future White House run.