JD Vance has thrown a thinly veiled jab at a fellow Republican presidential hopeful.
Vance is widely tipped to lead the Republican ticket in 2028, with his close pal, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, seen as the outside bet. However, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has thrown his hat into the ring of late, and he hasn’t shied away from critiquing Vance’s presidential credentials.
Cruz, who, along with Rubio, ran against Donald Trump in 2016 to lead the party’s ticket, said there would be a “full and vigorous primary and discussion” over who spearheads the 2028 campaign, rather than the president merely “anointing” a sole candidate. He also said the “democratic process is a good way to decide.”
In an interview with NBC News, Vance was noncommittal when asked whether he might back away from the race if the GOP suffers a midterm bloodbath.
“Right now, I try not to think too much in hypotheticals,” he said. “I’m just going to try to do as well as I can and encourage people to elect the candidates that I think are good. The American people make that decision, and when they do, then yeah, I’ll have some new information to consider.”
He was far more committed to swiping at Cruz. He said he is unflustered by Cruz’s apparent efforts to create a civil war. “It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president,” Vance said. “At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing.”
A spokesperson for Cruz said he too is focused on the midterm elections.
“Senator Cruz has been focused on electing Republicans up and down the ballot this November, and he will continue campaigning vigorously over the next several weeks to help make that happen,” they said in a statement given to NBC News.
It comes as Cruz tries to position himself as a candidate, even if that means intra-party potshots. “There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe,” Cruz told MS NOW’s Way Too Early last month.
Days later, Cruz told Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s podcast that it is “no secret that I want to be president.”
Asked if he intends to run, Cruz replied: “Time will tell.”
“I will say, this is a bug that history has proved is rarely ended,” he added. “It is a permanent and often fatal bug.”
Cruz was a bit more coy about whether he will run again in 2028 when pressed during his Pod Force One appearance.
“There will be plenty of time to have that conversation, but the time to have it is after the midterms, not before,” Cruz said.
