President Donald Trump has reportedly been busy privately venting to allies about all the things his vice president has done that suggest he might be a “disaster” as MAGA heir in 2028.
More than a dozen insiders cited by The New York Times on Saturday described a tense dynamic between Trump and JD Vance, 41, behind the scenes, with the 79-year-old president at times fixating on the perceived blunders of his vice president.
Trump is said to have compared Vance’s performance to his own in private discussions with allies, noting that the former Ohio senator had never won a difficult political race without his help. He also reportedly took issue with the number of vacations Vance has taken, and expressed doubts about his decision to send Vance to negotiations in Pakistan about ending the war in Iran.
An embarrassing incident last spring in which Vance awkwardly dropped the gold College Football Playoff National Championship trophy from his alma mater, Ohio State, is said to be a recurring theme for Trump when he privately weighs Vance’s potential for 2028.
A year later, Vance was relegated to the audience at a White House reception honoring the NCAA Division I football champion, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Vance’s social media interactions also seem to have irked some in the White House, with Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, reportedly urging him to take a break from it, as replying to critics was deemed to be a bad look.
Trump, who has repeatedly been asked who he believes would be best placed to take over as GOP frontrunner once his term ends, has created a competition of sorts between the two leading contenders, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, 55, and Vance.
At a Rose Garden Club dinner in May, the president asked attendees who they would prefer to serve as commander-in-chief, prompting a louder round of applause for Vance and a more muted response for Rubio, leading Trump to conclude: “Alright, sounds like a good ticket.”
But in an interview with Fortune this month, he didn’t seem so sure. When asked who would best carry on his “dealmaking legacy,” with Vance reportedly standing at the back of the Oval Office overhearing the exchange, the president replied: “Whoever gets this is going to be very important, and if you get the wrong person: disaster.”
The White House has denied the claims made in the Times report.
“Vice President Vance has done a remarkable job of helping implement the president’s America First agenda,” Steven Cheung, the White House communications director, said in a statement. “Any false media narratives from unknown and unnamed sources fabricating stories clearly do not have any knowledge of the truth,” he added.
Trump’s onetime MAGA queen, Marjorie Taylor Greene, 52, told The Times that Vance’s shifting stance on the war in Iran—which has driven up oil prices across the United States and left Americans struggling with affordability pressures—could prove politically damaging if he seeks to rebuild trust with anti-interventionist Republicans as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
“He is no longer in a place where he can hang on to his former reputation,” Greene, who previously recommended Vance as a good vice presidential pick for Trump, told the outlet. “There’s nothing that can protect him anymore,” she added.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Vance’s representatives and the White House for comment.
