The Republican Party is secretly engaged in a backroom struggle about who will continue the MAGA tradition after Donald Trump.
Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are attempting to overtake Trump as the front-runner in 2028, although Trump is just beginning his final lame duck term as president.
Who will MAGA voters trust to support Trump, then? It’s not too early to make predictions about Trump’s successor. In order to prevent Democrats from winning the White House again in three years, Republicans need start constructing a firewall now.
Vance and Rubio aren’t really MAGA.
Once mocked by Trump as Little Marco, Rubio has emerged as the Trump administration’s sane voice amidst the foreign policy problems involving Iran and Israel and Ukraine.
The former senator from Florida and former Trump opponent is trying to stand out from Vance and other Republican contenders as a moderate, reliable, and sensible choice. He was a fierce opponent of Trump in the early campaigns, but he is now a trusted advisor.
Rubio was selected by Trump to introduce a new visa limitation policy on foreign officials who he says are targeting Americans’ freedom of speech on social media in a well followed speech last month.
He wrote on X that foreign authorities have been punishing Americans for expressing their right to free speech with fines, harassment, and even charges for far too long. I’m announcing today a new policy that will restrict visas for foreign authorities and those involved in silencing Americans. Free speech is fundamental to the American way of life and is an inalienable freedom that is unaffected by foreign regimes.
Vance, who would succeed Trump should he be unable to serve out his term, hasn’t exactly made headlines as vice president.
Although he has attempted to emulate MAGA, prior to being chosen as running mate, he was not a significant member of the Trump movement.
Vance assured graduates at the U.S. Naval Academy during a commencement speech that the Trump administration will not send them on vague missions or into unresolved conflicts like in the past.
According to him, it does not imply that we disregard dangers but rather that we handle them methodically and that, in the event that we send someone to battle, we do so with a very clear set of objectives in mind.
He cited the swift strike U.S. bombing of Yemeni rebels as an illustration of Trump’s deployment of American military power.
That is the proper use of military force. “With a clear goal and a decisive approach,” he stated.
During the parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, Vance also gave a speech.
With his wife, Usha, by his side, he said, “I would get into trouble if I didn’t mention that it’s also my wedding anniversary.”
In three years, if Republicans fail to elect Vance and Rubio, they may also choose a female attorney general, such as Pam Bondi or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Both Bondi and Noem have assumed prominent roles in the Trump administration, and conservatives have praised them for spearheading the country’s immigration and law enforcement initiatives.
Bondi has led multiple news conferences criticizing trans women athletes playing girls’ sports, demonstrating that she has no problem with the spotlight.
In a Trump campaign ad, Noem played the primary role in pushing illegal aliens to flee the country before they are apprehended and deported.
