CNN Correspondent Delivers Ominous Prediction for JD Vance
John King went all over Ohio and saw warning signs for the vice president.
JD Vance may be the vice president, but his glide path to the Oval Office is anything but assured, according to CNN’s chief national correspondent.
John King said the midterms will show whether the MAGA movement will survive President Donald Trump—and anoint Vance, 41, as heir to the throne.
King went all over Ohio, which the president won with 55 percent of the vote in 2024, and found that voters there are feeling the pinch of the affordability crisis.

Areas marked in darker shades of brown are straining under the affordability crisis, according to John King.
CNN
“Voters everywhere—in cities, in suburbs, in rural areas—Trump voters are hurting. Democrats think they can win some of them back, if more Democrats come out who stayed home last time, and if some Trump voters might just stay home,” he said on OutFront.
ADVERTISEMENT
King warned that the cost of living crisis, when coupled with MAGA figureheads like Joe Rogan speaking out against the administration, could spell trouble for Republicans in the midterms.
“If Republicans get shellacked in the elections, Democrats take the House, maybe if they won Ohio, they get close or maybe they even take the Senate—we’ll see how that plays out—that would be a repudiation of Trump, which of course would hurt JD Vance. He’s Trump’s vice president,” he said.
Get the best of The Beast delivered right to your inbox
By clicking “SUBSCRIBE” you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
“If the Republicans get shellacked in the midterms, guess what? There will be more Republicans running in 2028 saying, ‘We need to go in a different direction.’ Sorry, JD Vance. ‘We need to get away from Donald Trump, away from Trumpism, away from tariffs,’” he added.
King pointed out that Ohio used to be a battleground state but has been reliably red in the decade of Trump.
“Ohio is the number one test of whether Democrats can get their act together and make this a battleground state again,” he said. “The other question is, does MAGA survive Trump and do the midterms hurt JD Vance and Vivek Ramaswamy?”

Vivek Ramaswamy is running for Ohio governor.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Ramaswamy, 40, is backed by Trump, Vance, and other GOP leaders in the tight race for Ohio governor. In a poll by Bowling Green State University, 48 percent said they would back Ramaswamy, while 47 percent said they would vote for Amy Acton, the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Vance, meanwhile, has so far refused to outright declare an interest in the presidency. In November, he said he planned to sit down with Trump to discuss his future after the 2026 midterms.
“I try to put it out of my head and remind myself the American people elected me to do a job right now,” he told Fox News. “If we do a good job, the politics will take care of itself. If we do a terrible job, the politics will take care of itself in the other direction.”
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.


ADVERTISEMENT
Sign in or create an account
Login dialog
Loading comments…
ADVERTISEMENT