{"id":2539183,"date":"2026-01-16T10:33:02","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-and-rubio-stick-together-through-2028-speculation\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T10:34:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T15:34:17","slug":"vance-and-rubio-stick-together-through-2028-speculation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-and-rubio-stick-together-through-2028-speculation\/","title":{"rendered":"Vance and Rubio stick together through 2028 speculation"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvance-and-rubio-stick-together-through-2028-speculation%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2539183&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>JD Vance and Marco Rubio have been projecting a united front in the Trump governance despite persistent speculation that they could be rivals in a 2028 presidential contest. They appeared together at a White House meeting with Denmark&#8217;s foreign minister to discuss tensions over Greenland, and Vance later cast a tiebreaking Senate vote on Venezuela war powers after rubio helped persuade holdout Republicans to back the administration.<\/p>\n<p>Both men publicly insist the administration&#8217;s success matters more then future ambitions, and Rubio has even suggested he would back Vance if Vance mounted a presidential bid. Still, observers scrutinize their interactions for signs of discord, and remarks and media moments have fueled speculation.<\/p>\n<p>Substantive differences exist: they come from different conservative traditions and have distinct foreign-policy instincts-Vance has been more skeptical of prolonged military engagements historically,though he has defended recent interventions. Trump has at times encouraged talk of either man as a potential heir to his movement and has floated the idea they might team up.<\/p>\n<p>For now, Vance and rubio continue to cooperate as senior administration figures; whether that cooperation endures as the 2028 cycle approaches remains an open question.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">The odd couple: Vance and Rubio stick together through 2028 speculation<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2472839\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Washington insiders keep straining to see daylight between Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a> and Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, only for the two of them to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/3500617\/rubio-latest-job-vance-partner\/\">maintain a united front<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Vance and Rubio met together at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/white-house\/\">White House<\/a> with Denmark&rsquo;s foreign minister on Wednesday for a &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/national-security\/2026\/01\/14\/trump-greenland-jd-vance\/\">frank but also constructive<\/a>&rdquo; conversation on the contentious topic of Greenland. Later that day, Vance cast his <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4418647\/senate-venezuela-war-powers-vote-second-trump-rebuke\/\">eighth tiebreaking Senate vote<\/a> to quell a revolt on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-move-to-curtail-war-powers\/\" title=\"Democrats Move to Curtail War Powers\">presidential war powers<\/a> in Venezuela, after Rubio helped flip two Republican senators in favor of the administration&rsquo;s position.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/finance-and-economy\/4421182\/trump-lurched-populist-left-economic-proposals\/\">Trump has lurched to the populist Left with recent economic proposals<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/premium\/4414381\/venezuela-regime-change-trump-maga-foreign-policy\/\">Make regime change great again?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4421236\/schumer-presses-trump-ice-white-house-meeting\/\">Schumer presses Trump over ICE raids at White House meeting<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Try as some might to drive a wedge between them, Vance and Rubio are publicly sticking together. It makes sense, given their positions as senior members of this administration. They may both be stars, but it is still President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump&rsquo;s<\/a> show.<\/p>\n<p>The problem, however, is that many are looking ahead to the sequel in 2028.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not even at the midterms yet,&rdquo; a Republican strategist who requested anonymity to <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >discuss future campaigns told<\/a> the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Their interests might diverge down the road, but right now they are on the same team and have a lot of common interests.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Both men have told interviewers that the success of the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/trump-administration\/\">Trump administration<\/a> is more important to them than any future race.<\/p>\n<p>NBC News recently <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2028-election\/vance-2028-support-gop-rivals-rcna253621\">quoted<\/a> a &ldquo;person close to the vice president&rdquo; as saying anti-Vance positioning by Republicans with their eyes on 2028 is hurting the current administration, in addition to being &ldquo;silly and early.&rdquo; But the outlet reported that this person made clear that &ldquo;their critique did not extend to Rubio or any other Cabinet member who might be entertaining thoughts of a presidential bid.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>There still isn&rsquo;t much that can tamp down the speculation. &ldquo;If JD Vance runs for president, he&rsquo;s going to be our nominee, and I&rsquo;ll be one of the first people to support him,&rdquo; Rubio <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/story\/trump-susie-wiles-interview-exclusive-part-2\">told<\/a> <em>Vanity Fair <\/em>last year.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>That would seem to be as close to a <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Shermanesque_statement\">Sherman statement <\/a>as one can get years before the next presidential election. Yet many played up a joke Vance <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/16\/us-news\/marco-rubio-rules-out-2028-run-if-jd-vance-seeks-republican-nomination\/\">reportedly<\/a> made to a photographer during a shoot for the magazine profile: &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll give you $100 for every person you make look really s****y compared to me. And $1,000 if it&rsquo;s Marco.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Even their teamwork is often carefully inspected for rifts. Much was made of Vance&rsquo;s absence from Trump&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fla-gov-desantis-unveils-statewide-bill-targeting-chinese-influence\/\" title=\"Fla. Gov. DeSantis unveils statewide bill targeting Chinese influence\">news conference announcing<\/a> the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\/\">Venezuela<\/a> operation. He did stand with Trump, Rubio, and Secretary of War <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/pete-hegseth\/\">Pete Hegseth<\/a> when the strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were made public. But his team has had to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VPCommsDir\/status\/2010920172953952666\">push back against reports<\/a> of Iran policy disagreements as the Islamic Republic faces protests that the president has pledged to support.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Faced with a barrage of American threats to grab Greenland, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/denmark\/\">Denmark&rsquo;s<\/a> foreign minister and his Greenlandic counterpart flew to Washington for &mdash; they hoped &mdash; sympathetic talks with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state,&rdquo; <em>Politico<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.eu\/article\/jd-vance-europe-greenland-us-vice-president-washington-marco-rubio\/\">reported<\/a>. &ldquo;But their plan for a soothing diplomatic chat escalated into a tense White House head-to-head with the [European Union&rsquo;s] nemesis, JD Vance.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Vance hates us,&rdquo; an unnamed European diplomat told the outlet. No disagreements between Vance and Rubio on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/greenland\/\">Greenland<\/a> were specified or are apparent.<\/p>\n<p>Vance professes no hatred for Rubio. &ldquo;I was very fond of him as a Senate colleague, but you learn a lot about somebody when you see them actually operate behind the scenes,&rdquo; he said when the two spoke at last year&rsquo;s American Compass gala. &ldquo;And Marco is, if anything, more impressive privately than he is publicly, which is very hard to do, but he&rsquo;s very thoughtful. He actually listens, which is a rare skill in politics.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>On Vance, Rubio said at the same gathering: &ldquo;I admired him in the Senate. I admire him a lot more now as vice president because I think vice presidents are just more impressive than senators.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, there are plenty of Republicans who would prefer to see them as competitors. Some merely wish to avoid the kind of coronation that plagued Democrats, first with former President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\">Joe Biden<\/a> and then with his replacement at the top of the 2024 ticket, former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kamala-harris\/\">Kamala Harris<\/a>. Others see ideological and policy reasons to back one over the other.<\/p>\n<p>Although they both are converts on Trump, Vance and Rubio hail from different strains of conservatism. Rubio became more populist after his unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination in 2016, adding &ldquo;common good&rdquo; conservatives to his senior Senate staff during Trump&rsquo;s first term.<\/p>\n<p>It is less clear that Rubio has shifted on foreign policy. Vance, a veteran of the Iraq War, has historically been less hawkish. He was pushed for the vice presidency over rivals such as Rubio by the president&rsquo;s son, Donald Trump Jr., who shares this skepticism of &ldquo;forever wars.&rdquo; Vance has publicly defended Trump&rsquo;s recent military interventions and now has taken a certain amount of ownership of Venezuela after <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/4421144\/democrats-ready-war-powers-blitz-exploit-trump-vulnerability\/\">the war powers debate<\/a>, though no modern vice president would have broken with the president on a Senate vote.<\/p>\n<p>Trump, perhaps mindful of his late split over the 2020 election with former Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-pence\/\">Mike Pence<\/a> in his first term or simply enamored of the man he has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3848294\/trump-marco-rubio-greatest-secretary-of-state-gaza-peace\/\">called<\/a> &ldquo;the greatest secretary of state in the history of the United States,&rdquo; has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/politics\/policy\/who-is-the-heir-to-the-maga-movement-trump-keeps-his-options-open-0f9e8c5c?mod=djemCapitalJournalDaybreak\">encouraged<\/a> Rubio vs. Vance talk himself, though he has also proposed an elegant solution.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4412378\/vance-defends-immigration-enforcement-ice-shooting\/\"><strong>W. JAMES ANTLE: VANCE TAKES THE LEAD IN DEFENDING IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT AFTER ICE SHOOTING&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,&rdquo; he said last year.<\/p>\n<p>Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin might call it a &ldquo;team of rivals.&rdquo; Stranger things have happened.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vance, Rubio meet Denmark&#8217;s FM at White House<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2539184,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP24326636776142.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[35138,34360,71136],"class_list":["post-2539183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-j-d-vance","tag-marco-rubio","tag-republican-unity"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AP24326636776142.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2539183"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2539187,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2539183\/revisions\/2539187"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2539184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2539183"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2539183"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2539183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}