Politics
Vice President J.D. Vance said he’s not sure President Donald Trump will support his 2028 term.
Published on October 20, 2026, 12:01 pm ET
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During an interview broadcast on the 2WAY platform on Monday, October 19, Vice President J.D. Vance said he was not sure whether President Donald Trump would immediately endorse him for the 2028 presidency.
Speaking with journalist Mark Halperin, Vance initially said he believed Trump would immediately endorse him if he ran.
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‘His support is still the most powerful’
JD Vance said Trump’s endorsement ‘signifies more than any political endorsement in history.’
The vice president added, “This is the person they say, ‘Well, if Trump is with someone, that must mean the elites are against that person.’ “I think Trump’s endorsement holds more weight than any political endorsement in history. Obviously, voters will decide. Donald Trump is just one vote of many, but I think his endorsement is still the most powerful. I think if I run, the president will endorse me.”
However, when pressed further on whether this endorsement would be automatic or immediate, Vance backed away from certainty and admitted, “I would think so, but I don’t know, man.”
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Vance said he has not talked to the president about a possible 2028 run.
Vance clarified that he has not yet had direct conversations with Trump about a possible 2028 run.
“It would be a little weird if you said to him, ‘Mr. President, I’m going to run,’ and he said, ‘Yes, let me think about it,'” Halperin said.
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Vance, who has historically low polling numbers, is confident he will get Trump’s support.
“No, I don’t think it would be weird,” Vance responded. “Again, I think I’ll have his support, but I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their races, and because the president’s endorsement is so positive, you could certainly see a scenario where the president says, ‘You know what? We should, like, let this race play out and not, like, prejudge the results.'”
‘I could be terrible at this’
Vance has not yet decided whether he will run.
“You could be terrible at this,” Halperin told Vance, who has historically had low approval ratings.
“I might be terrible at it,” the Vice President agreed. “So, I don’t know. Again, having never talked to the President about it, I can’t speak to his psychology on it, but my attitude is that if I ran, I think the President would support me, but I also haven’t talked to him about it yet.”
Vance said he has not officially decided whether he will run for president in 2028 and is currently focused on helping Republicans in the upcoming November midterm elections.
The 42-year-old’s comments are not unwarranted. In mid-to-late 2026, Trump declined to immediately endorse Vance’s potential 2028 bid, telling reporters that although he thinks Vance is “fantastic” and “great”, it is “too early” to consider endorsing anyone for the next presidency.