There’s a behind the scenes battle quietly being waged in the Republican Party over who will carry the MAGA torch after Donald Trump.
Trump is barely into his last lame duck term as president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are maneuvering to emerge as front runner in 2028.
The question is, who will MAGA voters trust to follow Trump? It’s not too soon to speculate about who will assume the void after Trump. Republicans should be building a firewall now to make sure Democrats can’t come back to win the White House in three years.
Neither Rubio nor Vance is truly MAGA.
Rubio, once derided by Trump as “Little Marco,” has surfaced as the voice of reason in the Trump administration, thrust in the middle of foreign policy crises in Ukraine and between Iran and Israel.
The former Florida senator and one-time Trump rival is vying to be a moderate, stable, common-sense alternative to Vance and other Republican candidates. After fighting bitterly with Trump during early campaigns, he is now a trusted adviser.
In a closely-watched speech last month, Rubio was chosen by Trump to unveil a new visa restriction policy on foreign officials who he claims are going after Americans’ free speech rights on social media.
“For too long, Americans have been fined, harassed, and even charged by foreign authorities for exercising their free speech rights,” he wrote on X. “Today, I am announcing a new visa restriction policy that will apply to foreign officials and persons who are complicit in censoring Americans. Free speech is essential to the American way of life – a birthright over which foreign governments have no authority.”
Vance, who would take over in the unlikely event of Trump not being able to finish out his term, has not exactly set the world on fire as VP.
He has tried to follow the MAGA lead, but he was never really part of the Trump movement before being picked as running mate.
In a commencement address at the U.S. Naval Academy, Vance told graduates that the Trump administration would not send them into “open ended conflicts” and “undefined missions” of the past.
“(It) doesn’t mean that we ignore threats but means that we approach them with discipline, and if we send you to war, we do it with a very specific set of goals in mind,” he said.
He pointed to the quick strike U.S. bombing of rebels in Yemen as an example of how Trump would use America’s military might.
“That’s how military power should be used. Decisively with a clear objective,” he said.
Vance also spoke during the parade to honor the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
“I would get in trouble if I didn’t mention that it’s also my wedding anniversary,” he said with his wife, Usha, at his side.
If Republicans pass over Vance and Rubio in three years, they could also turn to a woman – Attorney General Pam Bondi or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Both Bondi and Noem have taken highly visible positions in the Trump administration, with both earning praise from conservatives for leading the nation’s law enforcement and immigration policies.
Bondi obviously has no trouble with the limelight, and has led several press conferences to denounce trans women athletes participating in girls’ sports.
Noem took the lead in a Trump campaign ad urging illegal immigrants to leave the country before they are caught and deported.
Attorney General Pam Bondi (AP)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem (AP)