Tucker Carlson Predicts 2028 GOP Presidential Nominee
Former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson predicted on a Tuesday podcast that Vice President JD Vance will be the Republican Party’s choice for the presidential nomination in 2028.
Although President Donald Trump refrained from endorsing Vance for the 2028 race during a February Fox News interview—pointing out that there are “a lot of very capable people” in the Republican Party who could contend—Carlson argued on VINCE that this does not necessarily indicate Trump will not eventually back his vice president’s bid.
“I think people want to leave a legacy, all of us do, and great men especially do. And the only person in the entire Republican Party from my position who’s capable of carrying on the Trump legacy and expanding it, making it what it should fully be, is JD Vance,” said Carlson, whose son Buckley serves as Vance’s deputy press secretary.
“I think his loyalty is without question and his service to Trump has been profound. So I’m assuming that was just like a phrase that you feel you have to use,” Carlson elaborated.
Podcast host Vince Coglianese suggested that Trump’s lack of endorsement might have been a strategic move to shield Vance, an idea with which Carlson concurred. Coglianese also theorized that Trump wanted to keep the political focus on his current administration rather than the 2028 contest, as he still has “a lot of work to do.”
“That’s exactly right and there’s a lot that will happen between now and then … there’s no one else [to carry on Trump’s legacy],” Carlson affirmed. “And I think, already, I mean, it’s a tough gig for any vice president, this one included … But he has been a powerful partner for Trump. I don’t see any other, at this point, as of today, any other conceivable option. I think JD Vance will be the nominee.”
Mediaite reported on March 7 that Donald Trump Jr. was contemplating a presidential run in 2028, though he swiftly dismissed the speculation, emphasizing his commitment to ensuring JD Vance secured the 2024 GOP vice-presidential nomination.
“I accurately predicted that my buddy JD would be an instant power player in national GOP politics, so your theory is that I worked my ass off to help get him the VP nomination because I want to run for president in 2028?” he stated to the outlet. “Are you fking retarded? I’m actually glad you’re printing this bullst though because at least now the rest of the press corps will see how shi**y your ‘sources’ are and how easily you’re played by them. Congrats, moron.”
Following the Trump-Vance victory in the November election, political analyst Mark Halperin noted that the vice president’s willingness to participate in interviews across a variety of platforms gives him an edge over other possible 2028 presidential candidates from both parties.
“Unlike [former Vice President] Kamala Harris, I don’t think there’s a show in America JD Vance would turn down by saying, ‘You know, I can’t do it,’ or, ‘I’m worried about the reception I’d get.’ That’s a huge advantage for him,” Halperin observed.
“And if you look at the other people who are talked about as potential presidential candidates in both parties, [Democratic Pennsylvania] Governor Shapiro has been going on Fox News. He’s pretty confident about going places. The others, less so, and their performance level is just not that great,” he added.
Last week, Vance strongly supported Trump’s trade policies, contending that they would benefit the United States in the long run.
During remarks at the American Dynamism Summit, the vice president criticized the concept of globalism and the outsourcing of American manufacturing jobs.
“President Trump is starting with and is dead serious about rearranging our trade and tariff regime internationally. It must happen,” he asserted. “We believe that tariffs are a necessary tool to protect our jobs and our industries from other countries, as well as the labor value of our workers in a globalized market.
“In fact, combined with the right technology, they allow us to bring jobs back to the United States of America and create the jobs of the future,” Vance concluded.