Vice President J.D. Vance says the 2028 presidential primaries are “over” when President Trump finally endorses the Republican candidate.
“Whoever the president supports is ultimately going to win the Republican primary,” Vance said in an interview with Sean Spicer. “While Donald Trump will ultimately decide who becomes the Republican nominee, you have a general election; 330 million Americans will decide who is president of the United States.”
Vance called himself a “procrastinator” when it came to deciding whether to run and said he planned to delay the decision until he could no longer avoid it.
“I’m very concerned about the midterm elections,” Vance said. “If my wife had made this decision, she would have spent the last two years thinking about it. But that’s the kind of person I am; I’m not going to make a decision unless it’s really necessary.”
Vance said his family will be a major consideration.
“We have four little kids. You have to make sure you do it in a way that’s really good for the kids. Just like you can’t sacrifice your family for a high position and the high service that comes with it,” Vance told Spicer. “You have to make sure you think you’re the right person at the time who can make a good contribution to the country.”
“The midterm elections are going to happen, and then I’m going to have to start thinking about it, and then I will,” he added.
It’s a clear signal that Vance has not ruled out a White House bid, which would put him in the difficult position of pushing Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement forward while maintaining the politically diverse coalition the president has built. Its members (or former members) include Tucker Carlson, former Fox News host and close friend Vice President’s Call for Trump’s impeachmentthe idea emerged Create a new political partyand Defending far-left Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.
“But at what point did you find out that, because of your position as vice president, you might have to call some balls and strikes?” Spicer asked Vance about their relationship.
“I think you have to do it all the time, and I’ve done it to Tucker. I’ve done it to a lot of people,” Vance said, noting their differences over the Iran war.
Vance then directly criticized Carlson for defending Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul-Sayed.
“Abdel Said is a guy you agree with on the Iran war, and I understand that. But wait, here’s a guy saying the Iran conflict is a problem because it violates international law. How can this be an America first?” Vance asked. “One person who says that a terrorist tried to kill a bunch of innocent school children is not sympathetic to the innocent family but to the terrorist himself. So I think you have a responsibility to create those divisions.”
Vance was referring to El-Sayed’s comments after a Hezbollah-inspired attack on a Jewish kindergarten in suburban Detroit in March, in which the Democrat said “hurting people is hurting people.”
Still, Vance made clear that his differences with Carlson would not lead to him severing ties, arguing that abandoning a friend politically to gain an advantage would be an act of disloyalty.
“I would not do what I said because I disagree with what Tucker said about Abdul-Sayed and therefore I think he is a terrible person and I disown him. I would never do that,” Vance said.
“I think it’s disloyal and I don’t think anyone who does that to gain political advantage deserves to be vice president,” he added.