Secretary of State Marco Rubio threw a wrench in speculation that he might be on a collision course with Vice President JD Vance in the 2028 presidential election, praising the veep.
When asked about whether he has his “sights set outside of the State Department,” Rubio said he hopes that Vance tosses his hat in the ring during the next presidential race.
“Well, I think JD Vance would be a great nominee. If he decides he wants to do that. I think he’s doing a great job as Vice President. He’s a close friend and I hope he intends to do it,” Rubio told Fox News’ “My View With Lara Trump.”
The former 2016 presidential hopeful also downplayed the possibility of him jumping into the arena in 2028, noting that he is very attached to his current gig as America’s top diplomat.
Still, he didn’t rule out a presidential run entirely.
“It’s kind of early, you know, but being in the role that I’m in here at the Secretary of State, I really don’t play in politics,” Rubio explained. “There’s actually rules against me being involved in domestic politics.”
“I want to do this job as long as the president allows me to do it and stay in that job, which would keep me here all the way through January of 2028,” he went on. “You never know what the future holds. You never rule things out or anything.”
The Secretary of State also described Vance as “one of my closest friends in politics.”
Rubio had been a top contender in last year’s veepstakes, but Trump ultimately went with Vance.
Since being tapped as Secretary of State, Trump has thrown tough assignments at Rubio, making him run United States Agency for International Development (USAID), effectively serve as a national security adviser, acting Archivist and more.
Vance has even joked about the multiple hats Rubio wears in the Trump administration.
“I think he could take on a bit more. If only there was a job opening for a devout Catholic…” Vance joked last month after Pope Francis died.
The next presidential cycle will be the first time since 2016 that the path to the White House will be wide open race on both the Republican and Democratic sides.
It will also likely be the first time since 2016 that Republicans will run without President Trump as the party’s top standard bearer, posing a major test for the party
Rubio also reflected with Trump’s daughter-in-law about his experience running against the president in 2016. Trump had belittled him as “Little Marco,” and the two had chafed bitterly during the campaign.
“I knew who he was, obviously, but I’d never met him,” Rubio recounted. “We happened to be competing for the same thing. So in any competition, especially as you get down and it narrows down to three or four people, you know, punches are going to be thrown.”
“But then that ends and then we’re on the same team because he’s a Republican nominee and I’m a Republican.”
Rubio hailed Trump’s “incredible instincts for human behavior” and took note of the contrast between the fast pace of his administration and the turtle speed of the Senate.
“It’s incredibly rewarding. There is no point in being in this business and in this line of work if you can’t get things done. So that makes it a lot of fun,” he said.
