Trump May Have Given Us a HUGE Hint About Who He Sees As His Successor

For more than a year, the corporate press has treated Donald Trump's eventual successor like a riddle they alone can solve, parceling out clues from offhand remarks and body language. A new book suggests they've been chasing a story that doesn't yet exist because Trump himself hasn't made up his mind.

Or has he?

The book, titled Regime Change, by New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan, chronicles the first year of Trump's second term. One notable anecdote is that once, during a walk-through with reporters, Trump showed off new flagpoles he had installed on the White House North and South Lawns, something he said he had wanted to do during his first term but had avoided for fear of bad press. Not this time. "You guys were after me," Trump told the reporters. "I was the hunted. And now I'm the hunter."

That confidence extends to how he talks about who comes next. According to the book, Trump has repeatedly quizzed his own aides on whether Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio would make a better president after him.

And Trump may have given a hint about his preference.

Trump is also said to be impressed by the background of Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants. The book describes how, after Trump redecorated the Oval Office to fill it with gold flourishes, someone asked the president about the likelihood that the next president would undo all that he had done. Trump retorted: “Cubans love gold.”
But, Haberman and Swan write, Rubio and Vance are also friends. An example they offer is Rubio texting Vance after the 2024 Republican vice presidential nominee’s comments about “ childless cat ladies ” became a scandal. Rubio offered to campaign with Vance to show his support.

Speculation about who Trump prefers as his successor has been rampant pretty much since Trump took office again. In February 2025, Fox News anchor Bret Baier asked Trump if he sees Vance as his successor and the 2028 Republican nominee. Trump's answer wasn't the easy yes everyone expected. "No, but he's very capable," he said, before pivoting to praise. "I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he's doing a fantastic job. It's too early; we're just starting."

That answer rattled plenty of people who had assumed that Vance would simply inherit the MAGA movement when Trump's term ends. A Mediaite report the following month claimed that Trump wants his political dynasty to outlive his own presidency, and three high-level sources claimed that Donald Trump Jr. was seriously weighing a 2028 run of his own.

Donald Trump Jr. wasted no time torching that theory. "I accurately predicted that my buddy JD would be an instant power player in national GOP politics, so your theory is that I worked my a** off to help get him the VP nomination because I want to run for president in 2028?" he said. "Are you f****g retarded? I'm actually glad you're printing this b******t, though, because at least now the rest of the press corps will see how s****y your 'sources' are and how easily you're played by them. Congrats, moron."

That's not the response of a man choosing his words carefully for a future campaign launch. It's the response of someone who finds the entire premise absurd.

So after a year of speculation, here's what the evidence actually shows: Trump is weighing Vance against Rubio on the merits, and probably seems to be leaning toward Rubio right now.

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