Podcast host analyzes Vance, Rubio’s 2028 presidential prospects
Podcast host Ben Ferguson breaks down the early 2028 Republican presidential field, focusing on Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Ferguson discusses Vance’s recent media appearances and role in Iran-related diplomacy, and highlights Rubio’s growing appeal among Republican voters.
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AUSTIN, Texas — Three prominent White House reporters discussed which Republicans could run to succeed President Donald Trump in 2028 — and floated a wide range of names.
Politico White House bureau chief Dasha Burns, NBC News chief White House correspondent Garrett Haake, and the New York Times’ White House correspondent Maggie Haberman sat down for a panel discussion about covering the Trump presidency Friday at the Texas Tribune Festival.
While much of the discussion focused on Trump’s current term in office, moderator Annah Aschbrenner of The Washington Post finished the conversation by asking how the “competition” will shape up in the next election.
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Politico’s Dasha Burns, NBC News’ Garrett Haake and New York Times’ Maggie Haberman spoke in a panel discussion about covering the White House at the Texas Tribune Festival on Friday, Sept. 25, 2026. (Joseph A. Wulfsohn/ Digital)
“I think there are four lanes to the Republican Party,” Haake responded. “I think one lane is the Trump successor, the sort of like, from the inside of the White House, who’s the person who gets blessed… Presumably, that’s JD Vance. Unless JD Vance decides, for whatever reason, [he] doesn’t want it, or is somehow disqualified, then maybe it’s Marco Rubio.”
“Then I think there’s the ‘I tried to help you, but you didn’t listen lane’, which is like Ted Cruz, somebody who’s going to spend the next two years making Trump’s closest ally, fight real hard, but then when it comes around saying, you know, it didn’t work, [Trump’s] approval rate is 25%, here’s what I told him to dude, he didn’t listen,” he continued. “Then I’d think there is this explicitly anti-Trump lane, which is somebody like if Chris Christie… maybe it’s [outgoing Nebraska Congressman] Don Bacon or somebody like that.”
Haake then shared what he called his “fourth wild card,” which was HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., sparking gasps and groans from the largely liberal audience.
Burns jumped in, adding former DNI Tulsi Gabbard to Haake’s fourth lane of candidates.
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Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were all floated as potential Republican presidential candidates in 2028. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images; Aaron Schwartz/Sipa/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images for Semafor World Economy)
Haake theorized that if the MAGA coalition is fractured by 2028, the “MAHA group” — the Make America Healthy Again movement that helped fuel RFK Jr.’s independent run for president in 2024 and ultimately rallied behind Trump could rally behind the ex-Democrat, who he said “owns” that constituency more than Trump.
Haberman seemed to agree with Haake’s assessment, adding the “asterisk” that it’s “likely JD Vance’s nomination if he wants it” but that the war with Iran could also impact his chances.
While she stopped short of adding his name to the list of GOP hopefuls, Burns stressed the major influence Donald Trump Jr. has within the Republican Party, telling the crowd that Vance would not have been vice president without him.
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The White House reporters agreed that Vice President JD Vance would likely be the Republican presidential nominee in 2028 if he chooses to run. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)
“He is still enormously popular among the MAGA crowd,” Burns said. “He has a very different relationship, actually, than his dad does.”
“He speaks the language of conservatives more,” Haberman chimed in.
The Politico Playbook co-author then recalled Trump Jr. introducing his father at campaign rallies and how he’d receive “massive ovations” to the point that Trump would come out and remark on the enthusiasm for his son. Burns said Trump Jr. eventually stopped introducing his father as a result.
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“So there’s a world where Don Jr. really brings a ton of the coalition to JD Vance, and that will, I think, largely be positive for him,” Burns said. “I think that what is happening with these midterms, if it is the bloodbath that all the numbers are saying will be . . . I think the floodgates open, and it really changes the 2028 dynamics.”
Burns added that a “ton of people” from Trump’s cabinet could throw their hat in the ring in addition to RFK Jr. and Gabbard, also citing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth as a potential contender.
‘ Brian Flood contributed to this report.
