WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� The earliest signals of a normally involve such subtle and behind-the-scenes positioning from candidates that it鈥檚 been dubbed in political circles as the 鈥渟hadow primary.鈥�
But the early Republican race to succeed President in just over two years’ time seems to be already playing out in one of the most public forums possible: the White House press briefing room.
Vice President , who is seen as for president in 2028, stepped up to the lectern on Tuesday, holding the spotlight for 54 minutes as he took questions from reporters.
It was five minutes longer than the turn taken two weeks ago by Secretary of State , the person currently seen as 鈥� or running mate 鈥� in 2028.
Vance and Rubio were tapped to fill in as temporary replacements for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is on maternity leave. The chance to parry questions before news cameras on a wide range of subjects was a high-profile opportunity to reintroduce themselves to the public and try to make a nascent case that they should be elected commander-in-chief.
But most importantly for any Republican seeking to run for office these days, it was a chance to try to perform well on television, , whose endorsement can still make or break a candidate in a GOP primary.
Trump has yet to publicly anoint a successor and has seemed to enjoy the prospect of a competition.
For now, Vance and Rubio maintain that they鈥檙e good friends and have both demurred about whether they鈥檒l seek the White House in the next presidential race.
In his briefing on Tuesday, Vance seized a moment to suggest he wasn鈥檛 thinking about his future as a 鈥減otential future candidate,鈥� taking issue with a reporter who referred to him that way.
鈥淚鈥檓 not a potential future candidate. I鈥檓 a vice president,” Vance said.
They don’t want to talk about it. But Trump does
Even if they don鈥檛 want to talk about it, Trump does. He鈥檚 repeatedly brought up both men鈥檚 names when asked about a potential successor to his Make America Great Again political movement.
At a White House event last week with visiting law enforcement officials, Trump polled the audience about whether they鈥檇 prefer to see Rubio or Vance as the party鈥檚 next presidential nominee.
鈥淲ho鈥檚 it gonna be? Is it gonna be JD? Is it gonna be somebody else? I don鈥檛 know,鈥� Trump said in his remarks.
鈥淲ho likes JD Vance?” Trump said, surveying the crowd before asking, 鈥淲ho likes Marco Rubio?鈥�
Both drew applause, though Vance appeared to get a louder response.
鈥淪ounds like a good ticket,鈥� Trump said, calling them 鈥渁 dream team.鈥�
For the president, testing Vance versus Rubio as 2028 standard-bearer seems to be playing out like a live version of 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� the reality show Trump hosted for years before launching his presidential campaign.
Vance, when asked a few days later about Trump鈥檚 very public musing about his prospects as a presidential candidate, cracked a joke alluding to the show.
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think it sounds like the president of the United States to have a televised competition for who would succeed him as his apprentice,鈥� he told reporters.
Beyond his history as a television star, Trump is known to be a prolific television watcher and puts a premium on how politicians perform on cable news, giving reviews on social media and praising those he feels do well.
As he weighed who to choose as a running mate in his 2024 campaign, Trump evaluated how the contenders performed on television, and one of the key reasons Vance was chosen was his debating skills.
Vance is known for being pugnacious
The vice president’s style tends to be more confrontational than Rubio’s, and that has shown up in his past appearances in the White House briefing room. Back in January, a fiery Vance blamed a federal immigration officer鈥檚 in Minneapolis on Democrats and on the protester who was killed, and said journalists should be ashamed of their coverage of protests over immigration enforcement.
But on Tuesday, Vance kept things more jocular with reporters, seemingly mirroring Rubio鈥檚 playful appearance a week earlier.
Both men even made similar jokes.
Rubio told a reporter: 鈥淵ou can ask me two questions. I鈥檒l give you one answer.”
Vance’s version? 鈥淚f you ask two questions, I can only guarantee that I鈥檒l answer one. In fact, I鈥檓 a politician. Maybe I won鈥檛 even answer the one that you asked, but I will try at least to answer one question.”
They both said that they鈥檇 been provided a seating chart by the White House and both joked that they’d been told which reporters to call on and not call on.
And they each tried ribbing some of the reporters.
Rubio seemed a bit more freewheeling, at times adding to the chaos of the shouted questions with some interjections of his own. Vance seemed to seek a bit more order, at one point instructing reporters not to shout over each other.
In one of the last questions Vance took, the vice president leaned into his more aggressive style that Trump has prized. Vance took issue with a long preamble to a question, chiding the reporter by saying: “C’mon, man. Have a little bit of objectivity in the way that you ask these questions.鈥�
Rubio shared a clip on social media afterward
Rubio, who had sought the presidency back in 2016 in an unsuccessful campaign, got his own moment to shine toward the end of his recent White House briefing.
He was asked a lofty question about his hope for America and had a lofty response at the ready. Rubio said that America continues 鈥渢o be the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything, where you鈥檙e not limited by the circumstances of your birth, by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity, but frankly, it鈥檚 a place where you are able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.鈥�
The next day, Rubio shared a video clip of his answer overlaid with videos of Trump, Rubio and former President Ronald Reagan, accompanied by the kind of soaring music that might be used for a presidential campaign.
Rubio posted the clip on social media, where it has received more than 4 million views.
One viewer with an outsized impact gave a glowing review.
鈥淚 think he鈥檚 outstanding,鈥� Trump told reporters on Air Force One as he flew back from a trip to China.
鈥淚 thought he was great. I mean, I saw every word of it,” Trump said.
The president has not yet weighed in on Vance鈥檚 performance.
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