Trump told donors 'we need to elect JD,' source confirms, as he weighs Vance or Rubio in 2028

President Donald Trump has publicly been coy on whether he might back Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio to succeed him in the White House, but private comments to donors suggest he might be leaning toward the man he already picked as his running mate in 2024.

"At the end of the day, we need to elect JD," Trump told donors privately during an Oval Office meeting roughly two weeks ago, sources told The Washington Post.

A source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital the Post reporting on Trump's remark.

While Post sources say the remark is not evidence Trump has made a choice between his VP or Rubio, a man he has handed many hats in his administration, it is a rare and previously unreported lean of his long-term thinking.

Trump made just one reference to Vance in his donor speech in Las Vegas on Wednesday night, hailing "the war on fraud led by our great Vice President JD Vance: He's doing a great job."

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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Vance's office and the Republican National Committee for comment Thursday morning.

Despite Vance having won the 2024 running mate sweepstakes, Trump has also lavishly praised Rubio for his work in peacemaking efforts in Venezuela, Cuba and the Middle East, while simultaneously serving as national security advisor among his many leadership roles in the administration.

The president earlier this year declared that Rubio would go down as "the greatest secretary of state in history."

Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket as "unstoppable" — stopping short of explicitly saying who should be at the top of the ticket.

Trump did say last year that Vance is "most likely" his heir, because "in all fairness, he's the vice president."

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Trump joked at the White House Correspondents Dinner last month – rescheduled after dodging another assassination attempt earlier this spring – he would be running for president for a fourth in a troll to his critics, donning a Trump 2028

While Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, he has built a political team of advisors who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.

Rubio, who is crisscrossing the globe, does not have a similar group of political aides, and Rubio has said he will back Vance if the vice president launches a 2028 campaign.

Notably, Vance is the RNC's finance chair, ostensibly giving him the keys to the cash vault of more than $128 million cash on hand, according to the June Federal Elections Commission filing.

Regardless, Republican sources confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that a group of GOP donors supporting the secretary of state is quietly exploring ways to boost Rubio's political profile, which has not sat well with some in the president's political orbit.

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"Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party, and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration," an operative in Trump's political orbit told Fox News Digital earlier this year.

"The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful," the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.

Trump more recently questioned White House staff about the two possible contenders during a flight aboard Marine One, according to the Post. Although one adviser told the newspaper that Trump has privately settled on Vance as the Republican heir apparent, six other advisers and allies said they were not convinced that the president had made up his mind.

Those advisers noted that Trump sometimes gives different signals to different audiences and could change his position before the 2028 campaign begins. His aides also broadly expect him to delay any formal endorsement, in part to avoid diminishing his own influence during the remainder of his presidency.

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The dynamic resembles Trump’s 2024 search for a running mate, when Vance and Rubio were among the finalists. Advisers told the Post that Trump enjoys maintaining suspense around major political decisions and is reluctant to hand the spotlight to a potential successor too early.

Vance, meanwhile, has not announced whether he will run. He said in June that he planned to discuss his political future with his wife after the midterm elections and has maintained that he remains focused on serving as vice president.

People close to Vance previously told the Post that he intended to wait until after the birth of his fourth child before seriously considering a campaign. The child was born July 19.

The 2026 midterms could shape the emerging succession contest. Republican losses could encourage additional candidates to enter the race and make it easier for them to criticize Trump’s administration or challenge his preferred successor. A strong performance, by contrast, could strengthen Trump’s ability to shape the 2028 field.

Vance has spent much of his vice presidency building relationships with Republican donors and activists. He is closely associated with the younger, populist wing of the MAGA coalition and has taken on political and policy assignments that have helped raise his profile.

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Rubio historically has had stronger ties to traditional Republican donors, while Vance has deeper support among the party’s newer populist base.