{"id":2588397,"date":"2026-04-08T08:34:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:34:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-builds-foreign-policy-profile-as-possible-rubio-foil-in-2028\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T08:36:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:36:39","slug":"vance-builds-foreign-policy-profile-as-possible-rubio-foil-in-2028","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vance-builds-foreign-policy-profile-as-possible-rubio-foil-in-2028\/","title":{"rendered":"Vance builds foreign policy profile as possible Rubio foil in 2028"},"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\">22<\/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-builds-foreign-policy-profile-as-possible-rubio-foil-in-2028%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=2588397&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 is building a foreign-policy r\u00e9sum\u00e9 that could position him as a rival to Marco Rubio in a potential 2028 Republican race. The piece portrays Vance as expanding his reach on the world stage and shaping U.S. diplomacy beyond his current role.<\/p>\n<p>Key points:<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; he recently traveled to Hungary to bolster ties with Prime Minister Viktor Orb\u00e1n, signaling a focus on Europe and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and he has sharpened his critique of Brussels\u2019 policies at high-profile forums like the Munich Security Conference.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Vance has taken a hands-on approach to Iran diplomacy, with mentions of possible in-person talks and ongoing negotiations, and he has been involved in U.S. talks in Turkey and in discussions about peace efforts with Iran.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; His portfolio also includes Venezuela,where he was involved in U.S. operations and in shaping next steps to stabilize the country,alongside other White House officials.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; In parallel, he has helped craft a peace proposal related to the Russia-Ukraine war and has worked with U.S. and international partners, though Rubio initially questioned the plan and it did not ultimately succeed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Trump has not publicly endorsed Vance for 2028 and has praised Rubio as \u201cthe greatest secretary of state,\u201d while signaling support for the broader America Frist agenda. Vance\u2019s blunt style contrasts with Rubio\u2019s more measured approach.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Despite expanding his foreign-policy clout, Vance\u2019s influence has not yet swayed Trump to back him as the 2028 nominee, though he and Rubio have appeared together in forums and at events such as Milan for Olympics coverage.  <\/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\">Vance builds foreign policy profile as possible Rubio foil ahead of 2028<\/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_2545159\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Vice President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\">JD Vance<\/a> is building a foreign policy resume that could prove a formidable rival to Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a> should the pair face off in the 2028 presidential election.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Most recently, the vice president flew to Hungary to boost Washington&rsquo;s alliance with Prime Minister Viktor Orb&aacute;n, with the Tuesday visit coming as he has emerged as a key figure in United States relations with Europe, along with countries such as Iran and Venezuela.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Vance&rsquo;s vocal presence on the world stage, as noted in his scathing overhaul of U.S.-European relations at last year&rsquo;s Munich Security Conference, could pose a critical challenge to Rubio if they end up as Republican rivals competing for the 2028 presidential nomination. President Donald Trump has <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4498266\/rubio-iran-war-2028-republican-primary-vance-trump\/\">declined to signal <\/a>which man he favors to preserve his legacy &mdash;&nbsp;even as speculation that his two leading henchmen could end up as competitors has grown &mdash; and striking differences between the men&rsquo;s styles have become pronounced over their past 14 months in power.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Vance&rsquo;s often harsh, ideological complaints against allies have separated him from Rubio&rsquo;s typically softer approach to the &ldquo;America First&rdquo; agenda as the country&rsquo;s chief diplomat.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;JD has been great &mdash; gets a little bit tough on occasion. We&rsquo;ve got to slow him down just a little bit on occasion. He says his mind,&rdquo;&nbsp;Trump&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4470932\/trump-praises-marco-rubio-best-secretary-of-state\/\">joked in February<\/a>. &ldquo;Then we have the opposite extreme. &hellip; Marco does it with a velvet glove &mdash; but it&rsquo;s a kill. The result is the same. They do it very differently.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The vice president&rsquo;s style was highlighted during his trip to Hungary this week, when he once again waded into the European foreign policy debate.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As he stood beside Orban on Tuesday, Vance touted the Hungarian leader as a stalwart &ldquo;partner for peace&rdquo; in seeking to end the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/russia-ukraine-war\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"311\">Russia-Ukraine war<\/a>. Similar to his Munich address, which jarred allies and marked a key realignment in the European-U.S. relationship last year, Vance took jabs at the European Union establishment, rebuking policies from &ldquo;bureaucrats in Brussels&rdquo; he suggested have prolonged the Ukraine war, failed to &ldquo;stand up for the values of Western civilization,&rdquo; and undermined the democratic process by attacking Orban&rsquo;s bid for reelection.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During the same speech, Vance provided an update on the war in Iran as details have emerged about his role in mediating difficult talks aimed at nailing down a peace deal between Tehran and the United States. Iran <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/mar\/24\/pakistan-army-chief-iran-peace-talks-trump-call\">reportedly preferred<\/a> to negotiate with Vance on a deal over several other top White House officials. Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/politics\/watch-kushner-witkoff-rubio-and-vance-are-in-negotiations-with-iran-trump-says\">confirmed<\/a> last month that Vance is involved in talks. As of this week, there has been discussion about a possible in-person meeting between a U.S. delegation led by Vance and an Iranian delegation, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2026\/04\/07\/iran-negotiations-trump-threat-progress\">according to<\/a> <em>Axios<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The vice president has always been a trusted voice on all foreign policy topics, and the president appreciates his work to see whether the Iranians can meet the reality of this current moment,&rdquo; White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/newsletters\/west-wing-playbook-remaking-government\/2026\/04\/06\/jd-vance-on-standby-for-iran-talks-00860812\">told<\/a> <em>Politico<\/em> on Monday.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Vance spoke as a voice of authority on the war during remarks in Turkey.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If the Iranians want to exact a certain amount of pain, the United States has the ability to exact much, much greater pain,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;The president doesn&rsquo;t want to do that. I don&rsquo;t want to do that. That&rsquo;s why we&rsquo;re negotiating so aggressively. Whether it&rsquo;s positive or negative, we&rsquo;re going to get a response from the Iranians by 8 tonight.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Iran and Turkey are not the only theaters Vance is involved in. The vice president has expanded his foreign policy credentials in Venezuela as well. He was &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/jd-vance-skips-trumps-venezuela-spotlight-aide-says-he-deeply-involved-behind-scenes\">deeply involved<\/a>&rdquo; behind the scenes in the historic U.S. military operation that captured then-Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and took over the South American country, telling the <em>Daily Mail <\/em>that &ldquo;I was [on] the phone with the president and the entire team for about six hours for the entire course of that operation.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>At a briefing on the Venezuela takeover in early January, Vance said he&rsquo;s been chairing a meeting with top White House officials &ldquo;every other day &hellip; to talk about next steps, to try to ensure that Venezuela is stable.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m going to be as involved as the president wants me to be,&rdquo; Vance said.&nbsp;&ldquo;So far, that&rsquo;s been very involved.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>U.S. operations in Venezuela have thus far been an overall success from the Trump administration&rsquo;s perspective. The White House&rsquo;s efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war, which Vance has also been involved in, have been less productive.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Last August, it was Vance who led a summit with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-fall-of-a-country-the-untold-eyewitness-story-of-afghanistans-collapse\/\" title=\"The Fall of A Country: The Untold, Eyewitness Story Of Afghanistan\u2019s Collapse\">senior security officials<\/a> in the United Kingdom to discuss the war, alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Vance also holds close personal ties to U.S. Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, who has been a lead negotiator in talks to end the Russia-Ukraine war.&nbsp;Vance and Discroll helped shape a peace proposal that the U.S. presented to both countries last fall, which Rubio initially questioned and ultimately proved unsuccessful, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/nov\/24\/ukraine-peace-plan-jd-vance-daniel-driscoll\">according to<\/a> the <em>Guardian<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Vance has managed to stake out a major role in shaping the White House&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/america-first-diplomacy-is-over-biden-tells-g-7-summit\/\" title=\"\u2018America First\u2019 Diplomacy Is Over, Biden Tells G...7 Summit\">foreign policy agenda<\/a> and other issues as vice president. It hasn&rsquo;t been enough to sway Trump to publicly back his second-in-command as the 2028 nominee.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the president has held his cards close, hailing Vance, but at the same time, repeatedly celebrating Rubio as&nbsp;&ldquo;the greatest secretary of state in the history of the United States.&rdquo; The State Department&rsquo;s chief has enjoyed broad support for his work in carrying out Trump&rsquo;s America First agenda, while <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4458424\/rubio-munich-address-tells-europe-we-belong-together\/\">delicately appeasing<\/a> increasingly fragile coalitions that have balked at Vance&rsquo;s tone.&nbsp;And he has been singled out by Trump as one of several figures <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3848294\/trump-marco-rubio-greatest-secretary-of-state-gaza-peace\/\">credited for negotiating an end to the war<\/a> in Gaza, among other conflicts, and successfully juggling multiple, difficult roles in the administration.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4449678\/vance-rubio-2028-presidential-ticket-exposure-milan-olympics\/\"><strong>VANCE AND RUBIO GET 2028 PRESIDENTIAL TICKET EXPOSURE IN MILAN FOR OLYMPICS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As speculation intensifies about which man will rise to the top in 2028, Vance and Rubio have downplayed reports about their rumored rivalry. Vance in February described Rubio as &ldquo;my closest friend&rdquo; in Trump&rsquo;s Cabinet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Marco&rsquo;s doing a great job,&rdquo; he said <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/4461130\/vance-denies-rivalry-rubio-2028-president\/\">during a Fox News interview<\/a>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m trying to do as good of a job as I can. The president&rsquo;s doing a great job. We&rsquo;re going to keep on working together. I think the president is very smartly saying we&rsquo;ve got three years to go, and how about everybody focuses on the job the American people elected us to do rather than something that is very far in the future.&rdquo;&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 grows foreign-policy profile, could rival Rubio<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2588398,"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\/04\/AP25322643579438.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[50462,35138,34360],"class_list":["post-2588397","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-foreign-policy-2","tag-j-d-vance","tag-marco-rubio"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/AP25322643579438.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588397","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\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2588397"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588397\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2588401,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2588397\/revisions\/2588401"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2588398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2588397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2588397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2588397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}