(Adnkronos) – American Vice President J.D. Vance is reportedly “seriously considering” not running for the White House in 2028, following the heavy defeat suffered by Republicans in the November 3 midterm elections. This is revealed by CNN, citing about a dozen allies and advisors to the Vice President, according to whom Vance is grappling with his own questions about his political future, internal divisions within the MAGA movement, and family commitments. While remaining one of the main favorites for the Republican nomination, Vance is reportedly wondering if it is truly possible for a candidate from his party to win in the political climate created by Donald Trump. “None of his decisions would surprise me,” a person close to him stated. “He is only 42 years old. He is young enough to make a comeback if this context were to make success impossible. It might simply not be his time yet.” Weighing on the Vice President’s considerations would be, above all, the war against Iran: “The question is not whether J.D. can make it, but whether, with the war in Iran still ongoing, any Republican can make it,” explained one of his allies. “If they don’t end the war in Iran, no Republican has a chance in 2028.”
According to CNN, the electoral defeat highlighted a deep crisis within the coalition that had brought Trump back to the White House in 2024, with a loss of support among young people, men, Latinos, and white voters without a college degree. “MAGA is dead,” declared Rich Baris, a pollster close to the Trumpian movement. “The problem the Vice President will face is that he must motivate MAGA voters and convince them to believe again, because the Republican brand has completely lost credibility in their eyes.” Vance, according to his supporters, would remain the best-positioned candidate to rebuild a populist coalition, but he would have to contend with possible rivals such as Ron DeSantis, Ted Cruz, and Brian Kemp. Complicating the picture is also the hypothesis of an independent candidacy by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, a personal friend of Vance, who could further divide the right-wing electorate. “That’s why I think Vance is the only viable path,” Baris added. “They absolutely cannot win if they don’t mend these fractures.” The Vice President’s allies believe, however, that the new Democratic-majority Congress could offer him a political adversary against whom to mobilize voters. “It’s something we can use to our advantage,” explained one of them, recalling that in two years, balances can change radically: “Just look at how far Trump has fallen since his victory.”
Making Vance’s position even more delicate are his relations with Trump, who, according to CNN, was irritated by the Vice President’s criticisms regarding the war with Iran. “The reason we lost is the war. The President himself said so last night,” Vance had written on X. “If you want to argue that it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next six years was an acceptable price, do so. But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest discussion about how to move forward must start from here.” Trump, while privately sharing the analysis of the causes of the defeat, was “annoyed” by the Vice President’s lack of public support for the decision to attack Iran. The President, who yesterday removed Vance from the task of following negotiations with Tehran, has also not yet guaranteed his support for a potential candidacy in 2028. “I really think the competition has completely reopened,” observed Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project and a Vance supporter, emphasizing that “there is no longer a designated heir.”
