Will President Donald Trump endorse one of his closest advisers for the 2028 GOP nomination?
A reporter asked Trump on Monday whether he would support Secretary of State Marco Rubio to lead the GOP ticket during the 2028 presidential election. The reporter noted that Rubio received “positive reviews” after his speeches at the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.
Trump declined to officially back Rubio for the nomination.
“Something I don’t have to worry about now. I’ve got three years to go,” Trump told reporters.
He then suggested Vice President JD Vance could be another possible candidate.
“JD’s fantastic, and Marco — they’re both fantastic, I think, really. And I think Marco did a great job in Munich,” he added.
His comments come after months of Trump repeatedly joking about running for a third term despite the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution explicitly prohibiting him from doing so.
The 22nd Amendment reads: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once.”
Trump told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” last year that he would “probably not” run for a third term despite saying that he would like to. He has floated Vance as a possible successor to him but has not officially endorsed anyone yet.
When Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked in August 2025 about Vance’s potential as his political successor, Trump suggested that his vice president would follow in his footsteps. He also noted that there are other potential candidates, including Rubio.
“Well, I think most likely, in all fairness, he’s the vice president. I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,” Trump told reporters at the time.
