WASHINGTON — Vice President JD Vance brushed off questions about a possible 2028 GOP primary matchup between himself and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — joking that President Trump is drawing on his experience as host of “The Apprentice” while analyzing who should be his successor.
“I just don’t think it sounds like the president of the United States to have a televised competition for who would succeed him as his apprentice. I just think that’s not at all what you would expect the president to do,” Vance said sarcastically at a press conference focused on anti-benefit fraud efforts.
Trump rose to reality TV fame as host of “The Apprentice” starting in 2004, where he put contestants on the ultimate job interview based out of Trump Tower in New York City.
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“I think it’s natural for him to joke around with us a little bit, to play around with the idea, but I can tell you, the president is as focused as any of us on making sure we do as good of a job now for the American people,” Vance added.
Vance called Rubio “a very, very dear friend,” but said he thought it would be distasteful for the public to see officials “angling for a job” less than a year and a half into Trump’s second term.
Vance spoke to reporters Wednesday for about 50 minutes, taking many questions — in what some journalists viewed as an unsubtle response to Rubio’s own 50-minute press conference in the briefing room last week.
Rubio reportedly said in private that he would defer to Vance in the next election, but the constant speculation has drawn sustained coverage.
Trump often mentions that he views either Vance or Rubio as his successor — sometimes encouraging them to run as a ticket, without saying which would seek the presidency.
He polled a Rose Garden audience of law enforcement officials on Monday.
“We got a lot of beauties out there,” the president said.
“Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” Trump asked, pausing to hear the applause for each name.
“All right. Sounds like a good ticket,” he said.
“I do believe that’s a dream team, but these are minor details. That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance.”
Trump was in a joking mood at that appearance, saying that the White House could have been called the “s–t house” before his recent renovations
