JD Vance Reportedly Capitalizing On Trump's Weak Points To Gear Up For 2028 Election

Donald Trump has apparently ruled out running for vice president in 2028, but that doesn't mean the current VP has ruled out running for president. Behind the scenes, JD Vance is reportedly beginning to set the stage for a 2028 presidential run and, from the sound of it, he'll be highlighting how he differs from Trump in hopes of taking over his job.

Suffice to say, things haven't been smooth sailing for Trump in 2025 the way they have usually been, and Vance may be using complaints about Trump to his own advantage. A member of the White House staff told The Daily Mail that, since the start of his second term, Trump has spent "an enormous amount of energy to solving the world's issues." As such, his staff is attempting to persuade him to focus more on the U.S.

Whether Trump will take the advice of those around him is unclear. Yet, it seems that Vance is aware of these concerns, and he's using them to begin forming what his 2028 campaign might look like. A source from the White House told The Daily Mail, "Vance is already laying the foundation... telling the American public that he prioritizes issues that impact Americans first."

Both the concept and the wording of prioritizing "Americans first" is important to MAGA. As Donald Trump loses more and more loyal fans, his base is pivoting to the slogan, "America First," rejecting Trump's continued financial support of Israel and Argentina. All over X, formerly known as Twitter, former MAGA fans are abandoning their red MAGA hats for blue "America First" hats, signaling the fractures in Trump's base. From the sound of it, JD Vance hopes to swoop in and turn those former Trump fans into voters for Vance 2028.

A CNN/SSRS poll from the end of October 2025 showed that 68% of respondents believed that things aren't going well in the U.S., and a whopping 70% called the U.S.'s economic situation "poor" or "very poor," with 61% blaming Trump's policies. So, it may be politically wise for Vance to start determining his best response to Republicans' concerns about Trump now.

Considering Vance's anti-MAGA past and his obviously complicated relationship with Trump, it's not necessarily surprising that Vance would throw the controversial president under the bus for his own benefit as soon as the opportunity arises. Still, this only adds to Vance's history of flip-flopping and his seemingly weak values, something that will surely make it hard for him to gain voters come 2028.