“If JD Vance runs for president, he will be our candidate and I will be one of the first people to endorse him,” Rubio said in an interview with Vanity Fair, conducted by Chris Whipple, in which other members of President Trump’s cabinet also participated.

The statement comes amid growing speculation about the Republican succession race, given the constitutional impossibility of Trump seeking a third term in 2028.

Rubio, 54, and Vance, 41, are considered the two main contenders to inherit the leadership of the movement that has dominated the Republican Party for the last decade. Although there are still several years until the next presidential election, the debate has already taken hold in Washington.

Trump fuels the succession conversation

Trump himself has contributed to fueling these speculations. Last October, during an official trip to Asia, the president publicly suggested that Rubio and Vance could form a joint ticket, without clarifying who would head the presidential ticket. “Obviously we have JD; the vice president is great. Marco is great. I don’t know if anybody would run against those two. I think if they formed a group, they would be unstoppable,” Trump said at the time. His words reinforced the perception that both politicians have the support of the Trump hardliners. At the same time, Trump has repeatedly joked about seeking a third term, despite the fact that the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution prohibits it. However, his chief of staff, Susie Wiles, dismissed that possibility in an interview with Vanity Fair.Although he acknowledged that the president “is having fun” with those comments to provoke his critics.

Rivalry, Loyalties, and Awkward Jokes

During the photo shoot for the magazine, the apparent camaraderie between Rubio and Vance hinted at some tension.

According to the report, Vance joked with the photographers, offering them $100 for each person they made “look bad” compared to him, and $1,000 if it was Rubio.

Beyond the jocular tone, Wiles drew a difference between the two in terms of their relationship with Trump.

Regarding Rubio, former senator for Florida from 2010 to 2025, he said that “he wasn’t the type of person who would violate his principles,” so his embrace of Trumpism was more gradual.

In the case of Vance, former senator for Ohio, he considered that his conversion It was “a little more political,” coinciding with his run for the Senate. Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, was a harsh critic of Trump during the 2016 Republican primaries, a contest in which he unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination. Years later, he became one of Trump's allies and, after the 2014 election, was appointed Secretary of State, becoming the first Latino to hold that position. Vance, for his part, rose to prominence in 2016 with the publication of his memoirs, in which he recounted his childhood in working-class communities hit by deindustrialization. Although he initially asserted that he would never support Trump, he ended up aligning himself with his movement. For now, Rubio insists there will be no competition if Vance decides to take the plunge. The message is clear: at least publicly, Republican unity comes before personal ambitions.a contest in which he unsuccessfully sought the presidential nomination.

Years later, he became one of his allies and, after the 2024 election, was appointed Secretary of State, becoming the first Latino to hold that position.

Vance, for his part, rose to prominence in 2016 with the publication of his memoirs, in which he recounted his childhood in working-class communities hit by deindustrialization. Although he initially asserted that he would never support Trump, he ended up aligning himself with his movement.

For now, Rubio insists there will be no competition if Vance decides to take the step. The message is clear: at least publicly, Republican unity comes before personal ambitions.