2028 buzz grows around Vance & Rubio

0:00 Is there a new frontrunner in the shadow

0:02 Republican race to succeed Donald Trump as president?

0:06 This week, everyone noticed Marco Rubio.

0:09 Hello.

0:09 First, looking quite comfortable at the white House briefing podium,

0:15 then at the Vatican,

0:17 exchanging gifts with Pope Leo after weeks of President Trump criticizing

0:22 the pontiff before Rubio went on to meet with Italy's prime minister.

0:27 Of course, he is secretary of state, but it's tough not to compare him with J.D.

0:33 Vance, the vice president right now.

0:35 Sources have previously told us that President Trump

0:38 has openly mused about his vice president's performance,

0:42 and even asked friends to compare Vance with Rubio.

0:48 And that makes this video uploaded by Rubio's

0:51 team this week seem all the more eyebrow raising.

0:55 Shall we say.

0:57 What is your hope for America at a time such as this?

1:02 My hope for America and my hope for America is what it's always been.

1:05 I think it's the hope I hope we all share.

1:07 We want it to continue to be

1:09 the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything,

1:11 where you're not limited by the circumstances of your birth,

1:14 by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity.

1:16 But frankly, it's a place where you are

1:18 able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.

1:21 Congressman, that, that ad, that video, I guess it's not an ad, it's a video.

1:26 But still, it seems like a campaign ad, which I think is why, I'm trippin on it.

1:31 What did you make of Rubio's performance over the course of the past week?

1:36 I realize it's early, sort of baked in.

1:39 But let's be real, it's always ongoing.

1:41 Wow.

1:41 That's what.

1:43 That's what this week has shown for for Tim Rubio.

1:47 And for the interest Republican activists around the, around the country.

1:50 We've always talked about the memes.

1:52 The Rubio memes have so dominated this year,

1:56 of him sitting on the couch and then the multiple different disguises

1:59 of what he's doing every job that that is the most treacherous,

2:02 worst job of the week of the day, whatever the meme is,

2:06 it's even the DJ he was a couple weeks ago.

2:09 I think we have a picture that I.

2:10 I will admit that I, I don't know,

2:12 I think I'm a little old for this meme, but here it is.

2:15 Okay.

2:17 There's the man himself.

2:18 You got to wonder.

2:19 Like, you know what he's playing.

2:20 Anyway, sorry to interrupt the memes,

2:22 and that shows you some level of political connectivity in this environment,

2:25 but this week showed that there's this internal apparatus around.

2:28 The white House is very interested in his talent

2:31 and what that could bring to, Republican successor to President Trump.

2:35 Now, I think we have to ask the question, though.

2:38 Does Rubio actually want it?

2:40 And that is a very secondary question

2:42 to this whole atmosphere now wanting the evidence.

2:45 And what he doesn't want to say.

2:49 What do you want to say.

2:50 Yeah.

2:50 What do you want say also I will say that he was it was a little masterful,

2:54 I would have to say, because he's not only catering to Donald Trump,

2:58 he you're you're hearing his words also with Donald

3:01 Trump on this sort of the screen in the video,

3:04 which he understands who his audience is.

3:06 He understands he needs Donald Trump to go out

3:08 there and support him in order to have your base.

3:11 At the same time, he talks about you should

3:13 not be limited by the color of your skin, where you come from, etc.,

3:17 which are words that would never come out of Donald Trump's mouth.

3:20 And so at the same time,

3:21 he's trying seems like he's trying to appeal to a broader electorate,

3:25 which whoever runs will need to do that, whether it works,

3:28 whether that works in a Maga primary, no clue.

3:33 But he is starting to lay the groundwork on the to.

3:35 Even if it's not just a Maga primary.

3:37 The two silhouettes you saw in that video one Donald Trump, two Ronald Reagan,

3:42 and he was speaking to in the it's funny that you call it an ad,

3:46 Casey, because, come on, it is a campaign

3:48 that I'm Marco Rubio and I approve this message.

3:50 He's Marco Rubio, he approves this message.

3:51 I mean, maybe my definition of AD is outdated because,

3:53 like, who really cares about traditional TV spend?

3:56 It's all about your phone anyway.

3:57 Sorry but playing.

3:58 There are two big voices in the American

4:02 political right over the last generation, Ronald Reagan and, Donald Trump.

4:05 He seems to be speaking to, like you said, socially, all things to all people,

4:08 at least within who will be voting in that primary in a couple of years.

4:11 The message was vintage.

4:12 I mean, that was like a Rubio 2016 ad,

4:15 like from a Pre-Trump times like the just the message, the inclusive message.

4:20 I mean, it was I also said, wow, when I saw that on his Twitter feed,

4:23 like he's just blatantly launching

4:25 a presidential campaign from his official account.

4:28 It's what it looked like.

4:28 Also, I find the Rubio memes and the fact

4:31 that he's doing everything funny when it's juxtaposed

4:34 with the reality that Jared Kushner and Wyckoff

4:36 are the ones who are like going into Ukraine,

4:40 going Iran, negotiating every war in the world.

4:44 And he actually, as secretary of state, seems a little sidelined from being like

4:49 the main negotiators of our international crises.

4:53 Somehow, though, to his benefit, he still benefits from this idea

4:56 that he's doing every job in the administration.

4:59 Take it a step further.

5:00 It's not not only okay, so he's the secretary of state,

5:03 but they're these other folks, in the Middle East doing a little bit.

5:06 But he's also not vice president of the United States.

5:08 And we're here talking about his prospects,

5:11 as the future of the Republican Party.

5:12 Where is JD Vance right now?

5:14 Is we're having this and it's a really was in Iowa.

5:16 He's in Iowa, but still but it's a reminder

5:18 of sort of what a crappy job vice president it is.

5:22 I was looking for the first 100 years of our republic,

5:25 the the, the keys to the white House went through being secretary of state.

5:29 And and then we've seen over the last 100 years,

5:31 the keys to the white House are being vice president, at least the nomination.

5:35 So this is going to be super interesting for us to follow,

5:38 but also to show you that Republicans do have more than one choice,

5:42 even if that choice goes through.

5:43 But if I had to look this week, like, okay,

5:45 so Rubio is in the briefing room launching his presidential campaign,

5:49 going to meet with the pope, which is great, like a he's Catholic.

5:52 So as J.D.

5:53 Vance that he gets to be the one making a peace with the Pope.

5:56 And Vance is in Iowa campaigning for the midterms in a brutal cycle,

6:02 trying to talk about affordability like that's a tough job assignment.

6:06 Like it's it's a tough environment out there.

6:08 Like, who would which platform would you rather

6:11 have if you were potentially running for president?

6:13 Like I'd rather be Rubio this week.

6:15 The secretary of state or vice president thing,

6:16 because it does ask the question, is he Thomas Jefferson or is he Dan Quayle?

6:21 Right.

6:21 All right.

6:22 Oh, tug heap Cox.

6:26 So here, was a little bit of the, ruthless

6:29 podcast on this back and forth between, Rubio and Vance.

6:32 This, of course, a group of, Republican,

6:36 podcast turn now podcasters, but largely,

6:40 Hill aides actually come out of McConnell world that, you know,

6:44 they've evolved now they're now they're able to to to talk like MAGA.

6:47 Let's see what they have to say.

6:50 Are we going to pretend like that's not a presidential candidate?

6:54 It sounds like a president.

6:55 How are we going to do that?

6:56 It's kind of hard to ignore at some point that this guy's becoming

7:00 a thing that is larger than maybe

7:04 even this administration had previously conceived of.

7:08 JD is going to have to work for it.

7:10 He's going to be very hard to beat.

7:12 But the reality is there's a race on.

7:16 What do you make of that?

7:17 Because there a most popular Republican podcast around and speaks to both,

7:22 the old world is the Republican Party

7:25 and this new world of the Republican Party.

7:27 What I make out of that is that they're

7:29 saying the obvious thing that we're saying here,

7:32 we have two people within this administration that are thirsty

7:35 and thirsty for the endorsement and embrace of President Trump,

7:39 so they can be the the Republican nominee.

7:41 Yeah.

7:42 And it was interesting to me there that they,

7:44 suggested that Rubio has kind of expanded

7:47 beyond what anybody thought was possible,

7:49 which is kind of a piece of this that I'm watching pretty closely.

7:52 Is Vice President Vance, made his first trip to Iowa as vice president.

7:57 At the same time, Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted a video of an answer

8:01 he gave to a question when he was giving a briefing at the white House.

8:04 Such a dramatic footage and music.

8:07 It is meant as a celebration of the America's 250th anniversary.

8:11 But it reads like something else.

8:13 Take a look.

8:18 And I hope for America is what it's always been.

8:20 I think it's the hope.

8:21 I hope we all share.

8:22 We want it to continue to be

8:23 the place where anyone from anywhere can achieve anything,

8:26 where you're not limited by the circumstances of your birth,

8:29 by the color of your skin, by your ethnicity.

8:31 But frankly, it's a place where you are

8:32 able to overcome challenges and achieve your full potential.

8:36 I mean, that because I knew that that would not be

8:40 out of place on a New Hampshire or Iowa TV station.

8:43 Secretary Rubio's briefing this week generated more buzz among the Republicans.

8:47 I know than anything that's happened in the last year.

8:50 He has the potential to keep the Republican base intact

8:54 that President Trump got and bring back some of Trump's critics.

8:58 I will see if Secretary of Vice President Vance has the same potential.

9:02 I think Rubio demonstrated that this week.

9:04 It's a long time.

9:06 But I thought this was a pretty important moment.

9:07 What do you think?

9:08 Yeah.

9:08 Look, Rubio, you talk to people, the hardcore MAGA voters,

9:12 I think more than anybody else in the administration.

9:14 Rubio has outkick his coverage based on the expectations for him.

9:18 A with that crowd and B, for the, you know,

9:21 old world normie Republicans who've always love Rubio,

9:24 they're like, this guy's terrific.

9:25 So I agree with Brad on the buzz and my assumption is

9:28 and Rubio has said this, Vance and Rubio will not run against each other.

9:31 And so however, this shakes out,

9:33 and I still think it would be enormously difficult to take the nomination

9:37 away from a sitting vice president if he wants to get it.

9:40 I don't know, I think this is a funny thing.

9:42 And if you see there's cracks in the fissure, you go for it because you don't.

9:46 Then you get you have to wait for years, to go for it again.

9:49 That right or right,

9:52 that commercial should raise alarms in the Democratic Party.

9:57 Here's the thing.

9:59 There's a long way between now and exploratory

10:02 committees and then the actual November vote.

10:04 But what I will say is that what Democrats will need

10:06 to do is to anchor Donald Trump to JD Vance or Marco Rubio.

10:11 And if things continue in this trajectory,

10:13 that anchor might be to I think it's going

10:15 to be very hard for somebody who is a face

10:17 of the Trump administration to be successful in a general

10:19 election in 2020 8th May get the Republican nomination.

10:22 Yeah.

10:22 It's going to be very,

10:23 very hard for them to be successful in a general election in 2028.

10:25 The horse what do you think?

10:27 Where do you think the ledger is right now between Vance and Rubio?

10:30 The Republican Party, like the Democrats,

10:34 often let the former vice president have the first shot.

10:40 When that position becomes open for president.

10:43 In this particular case, the 80 million voters for Donald Trump,

10:47 two thirds of whom are Republicans, are going to have to be sold on who

10:53 it is that best reflects their values and their views.

10:58 And that's going to decide it.

10:59 And that's good, because competition is always.

11:02 Are you suggesting that they're not going to take Vance as the default,

11:07 just hook, line and sinker?

11:09 Yeah, I think that there's likely going to be a real competition.

11:12 What do you think?

11:13 I mean, Denver, I mean,

11:14 Rubio has really been trying to raise his profile lately.

11:17 And and frankly, I mean,

11:20 it seems like Vance has been doing the opposite just because the war,

11:23 for example, is really not one of his core issues, I think.

11:26 I think Trump loves when people climb over each other to get to him.

11:29 I think that's what you're looking at right now.

11:32 I also think, I can't imagine Rubio subsuming to Vance.

11:35 I just can't imagine Rubio being a VP under Vance.

11:38 I just don't get it.

11:38 I just don't think it's going to happen.

11:40 I really think it's going to be Rubio and Don Jr or something like that.

11:42 I think you're going to have something a little bit different.

11:44 I think there's a lot of two top candidates or I,

11:47 I think it's it might be president VP.

11:50 I think Don Jr is really eyeing this really hard.

11:52 I you know, and you know, when I was at the 2020 Republican convention,

11:56 I actually thought I was going to be

11:57 a banker right when she was actually talking.

11:59 A lot of talk about that.

12:00 Right.

12:01 And I don't even know if that's still going to be a banker.

12:03 But I do believe, I think that I don't think Vance will be the nominee.

12:06 I'm just going to put it out there right now.

12:07 I'm personally shocked.

12:09 That most charismatic person in America, JD Vance,

12:11 is not on everybody's front running list

12:13 to be the president of the United States.

12:15 I mean, the guy who famously said,

12:17 if I have to lie to convince people to do what I want,

12:19 then I'm just going to do it.

12:21 About the cats and dogs thing.

12:23 I she's he's there's very little compelling about JD Vance.

12:28 And I've always believed that is part of why

12:30 Donald Trump chose him as his vice president.

12:31 I think JD Vance is Peter Steele's boy, and I think that Peter Teal is pretty

12:36 much owning half the government at this point.

12:38 And I think if Peter Teal wants JD Vance in that position,

12:40 he'll be in that position.

12:42 I think we have to watch out for Tucker Carlson.

12:44 I think he's the one who wants to run.

12:45 Tucker.

12:45 Tucker.

12:46 Tucker.

12:46 Yeah, I think he's the heir apparent.

12:48 So, you know, if you look at the, the two of the last three presidents,

12:52 who would have thought that Barack Obama was going to be president, right?

12:55 Who would have thought that Donald Trump was gonna be president?

12:57 So, you know, people are going to be ready.

12:59 And I'm a big Donald Trump fan.

13:01 I've worked with them, but probably people are going to be ready for a bit

13:03 of a change after after eight years of of Trump,

13:06 although it's a happy if you look

13:09 at what's happening in these primaries around the country,

13:11 whoever Donald Trump is tapping on the shoulder for these races is winning them.

13:15 So he has a tremendous impact on who was winning.

13:19 But but, you know, as you know,

13:21 sometimes he chickens out and he's like, I like them.

13:25 Both of them.

13:25 Yeah.

13:26 You know and that's that's part of the problem

13:28 is that if you don't get the clear cut,

13:31 you know, endorsements, sometimes you look at a line where he,

13:34 he took out a bunch of incumbent Republicans.

13:36 That's true.

13:37 Right.

13:37 That's because he hated them and wanted them out of office.

13:39 But it's different when he's not sure where the winds are blowing.

13:42 Sometimes he just doesn't make a decision.