Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance each took turns hosting White House press briefings during Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's maternity leave this May, turning the briefing room into a testing ground for potential 2028 Republican presidential candidates [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Rubio led the first session on May 5, delivering a 49-minute briefing centered on Iran and foreign policy issues [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. He used humor to manage the challenging media environment, jokingly suggesting reporters wear name tags to keep order [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Rubio gave a campaign-like statement on America's future that quickly went viral among Republican supporters and was shared by Elon Musk [1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 5, 6].
Vice President JD Vance hosted the second briefing on May 19, lasting 55 minutes, about six minutes longer than Rubio's [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Vance adopted a more restrained tone and focused on domestic politics, touching on contentious issues including Trump’s stock trades, U.S. AI policy, and the Department of Justice's $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" related to January 6 defendants [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. He mixed some humor throughout, joking about filling in for Leavitt during maternity leave and quipping about age affecting his eyesight [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. At the briefing’s end, Vance sharply rebuked a reporter for a critical question about Trump, saying, "拜託，老兄。你問這些問題時，多少客觀一點," challenging the reporter's tone and calling the question more of an "address" [1].
Neither Rubio nor Vance explicitly mentioned the 2028 presidential race during their sessions, although both are considered leading Republican successors of former President Donald Trump [s1,s2,s3,4,s9,s10]. Trump publicly asked a White House audience who they preferred, Rubio or Vance, calling them a “dream team” and saying they sounded like a good pair [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
Rubio, viewed as hawkish on Iran and national security, holds multiple influential roles in the Trump administration and is widely trusted [7, 8]. He pledged to support Vance if Vance runs, stating, "我會在這份工作上再待兩年半...我會第一個報名支持JD，如果他出馬，我認為他是非常出色的候選人" [8]. Vance is seen as more restrained but fiercely loyal to Trump, emphasizing MAGA base issues such as religious freedom and immigration restriction [9, 10, 6]. On the Iran conflict, he said, "這不會是一場永久戰爭，政府的目標是處理完畢就回家" [10].
Trump’s closest aides have not formally endorsed either Rubio or Vance over the other, and sources differ on who is favored as Trump’s 2028 successor, with some citing Rubio’s influence after intensified operations against Iran and others pointing to Vance’s strong MAGA base support and explicit Trump backing [7, 8, 9, 10, 6].
Rubio’s May 5 briefing was followed by Trump’s public remarks supporting both figures on May 11, and Vance’s briefing occurred on May 19 as the last session reported [timeline]. The White House press room remains a focal point for the pair as they raise their profiles in advance of the 2028 election.
