JD Vance says he thinks Trump would endorse him if he ran for president
Vice President JD Vance has said he hasn't decided whether to run for president in 2028, but he said in a Monday evening interview that he believes the president would endorse him if he ran.
"I really have not made up my mind about what to do in 2028. I just haven't focused on it. We, you, and I have talked about that. Look, I think if I run, the president will endorse me," Vance said to Mark Halperin during the interview that aired Monday evening.
But Vance added that he hasn't spoken to Trump about it and cautioned that Trump has sometimes let a race play out to see what happens.
“I think I would get his endorsement, but I also think there's something to be said for people actually running their own race, and because the president's endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, ‘You know what? We need to let this race play out,’ and not like preemptively prejudge the results.”
“But my attitude is, if I run, I think the president would endorse me. But I also haven't talked to him about it yet,” Vance continued.
Trump’s endorsement has proven powerful in several GOP primaries over the past few years. One prominent example was the Texas GOP Senate primary, when Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton over Republican incumbent John Cornyn.
Trump’s endorsement was also critical for Vance when he ran for the Ohio Senate seat in 2022.
Polling at the time showed Vance falling into third place in the weeks leading up to the primary election, behind Mike Gibbons and Josh Mandel. Still, a last-minute endorsement from Trump catapulted Vance and helped him win the race.
For months, Vance has said he remains undecided about whether to run for president, but many view him as the heir apparent to Trump’s MAGA movement if he were to launch a presidential campaign.
Vance recently spoke about the power of Trump's endorsement, telling former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in an interview that Trump’s endorsement can give a candidate a major advantage.
“But if Donald Trump said, ‘Hey, I think you're the best person. I'm going to endorse you today,’ would you want it?” Spicer asked Vance.
“Then the primary is over. Of course, I think whoever the president endorses will ultimately win the Republican primary,” Vance told Spicer.
Vance added that although Trump will decide who the Republican nominee is, American voters will decide the next president.
“Look, I think there's a lot of value. There is a lot of value to going and making the best case that we can to the American people. Because while Donald Trump will ultimately decide who's going to be the Republican nominee, you have a general election, 330 million Americans are going to decide who the president of the United States is,” Vance said.
