President Donald Trump has privately told Republican donors that "we need to elect JD," referring to Vice President JD Vance, during a meeting in the Oval Office approximately two weeks ago, according to sources cited by The Washington Post and confirmed to Fox News Digital.

While Trump has publicly been noncommittal about whether he supports Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his potential successor in the 2028 presidential race, his private remarks suggest a leaning toward Vance, who he selected as his running mate in 2024. Trump has not officially endorsed either candidate for 2028.

In a recent donor speech in Las Vegas, Trump praised Vance, saying, "the war on fraud led by our great Vice President JD Vance: He's doing a great job."

Notably, Vance serves as the Republican National Committee's finance chair, overseeing a substantial cash reserve of over $128 million as of June, according to Federal Elections Commission filings.

Trump also made a lighthearted reference to a potential 2028 run at the White House Correspondents Dinner, donning a "Trump 2028" hat.

Despite these developments, Trump has yet to explicitly name a preferred successor, and sources caution that his private comments do not definitively indicate a final choice between Vance and Rubio.

Sources