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Fox Star Warns Vance He’s Not as Popular as He Thinks

Brian Kilmeade believes JD Vance, despite being a loyal No. 2 to President Donald Trump, is not actually all that popular among Republicans.

Influential right-wing pundits have expressed reservations about JD Vance’s potential 2028 presidential run.

Fox News host Brian Kilmeade and senior political analyst Brit Hume discussed frontrunner Republican presidential candidates on the Brian Kilmeade Show when Vance’s name came up, and the duo is not ready to crown him MAGA’s heir apparent.

A photo of Fox News host Brian Kilmeade in a telephone conversation with senior political analyst Brit Hume

Kilmeade has offered a sobering view of Vance's chances of winning the presidency in 2028.

The Brian Kilmeade Show/Fox News

“Everybody talks about Rubio and Vance,” Hume, 83, said. “I have a suspicion about Vance. He’s everybody’s idea of the frontrunner, and he may be, but a lot depends on how the public and the party feel about Donald Trump by the time 2028 rolls around.”

He continued, “If you’re as attached to the hip to Trump as, indeed, Vance is, it’s a good question whether that is a liability or a benefit… I think it might end up being a liability.”

Kilmeade disagreed that Trump would be unpopular by the next presidential election, but concurred with Hume’s opinion of Vance.

US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance make a joint appearance in the Oval Office to announce a whistleblower program encouraging the public to report alleged fraud, at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 20, 2026.

Trump has stopped short of endorsing anyone for 2028—though JD Vance and Marco Rubio are the early favorites on the Republican side.

Kevin Lamarque/Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

“I think it’s going to end differently, I actually do, because once the Iran thing is done, I think a lot of his policy going into place… it’s going to be up to him to start to solidify it into legislation,” Kilmeade said. “I just don’t think Vance is as popular as he thinks he is with Republicans.”

Nearing the halfway mark of Trump’s second term, polling numbers seem to support Kilmeade’s hypothesis. Vance’s popularity has followed a similar downtrend to Trump’s in recent months, with 53 percent of Americans finding him unfavorable and 41 percent finding him unfavorable, according to an October Economist/YouGov poll.

Earlier this month, Vance told journalist Mark Halperin that he believed the president would endorse him if he chose to run in 2028.

“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.

His assumption was rebuffed by Trump the following day, when the president told a reporter with Vance standing directly behind him that Vance was a “very talented” and “good person,” but that “It’s early. Very early.”

US President Donald Trump greets US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a midterm election rally, in Lubbock, Texas, US October 27, 2026.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also seen as a Republican contender for the 2028 presidential election.

Kevin Lamarque/Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS

Kilmeade and Hume claim that Democrats will struggle to rally the troops around an anti-Trump coalition in 2028, since the president’s second term will start winding down after the midterms.

“They’re not for anything,” Hume said of Democrats. “They’re against Trump.”

“They’re a party without a program,” Kilmeade added. “Wealth tax, is that something to run on? What? Medicare for All? That’s not serious.”

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