Reporter Outright Asks JD Vance if He’ll Support Ted Cruz’s 2028 Presidential Bid

A reporter asked Vice President JD Vance, who is widely expected to run for president in 2028, if he would instead support other Republicans for the job, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Cruz has been quietly asking people if they would be willing to work on his potential 2028 presidential campaign. Cruz ran for president in the 2016 Republican primary against Donald Trump, who hurled nasty insults at Cruz, his wife Heidi Cruz, and his father Rafael Cruz. However, Cruz eventually became one of Trump’s most ardent supporters.

During Thursday’s White House briefing, Vance played the role of press secretary after Karoline Leavitt, who departed the administration last month. The White House has yet to name a replacement. At the presser, a reporter asked Vance if he would consider backing Cruz or Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for president.

“I know you don’t want to talk about your own potential 2028 prospects, but Senator Ted Cruz and your good friend, Secretary Hegseth, apparently have been privately and publicly, in the case of Senator Cruz, positioning for 2028,” the reporter said. “Could you see yourself supporting either one of them for a presidential campaign?”

“That’s an innovative way to ask the question,” Vance said. “But I’m still not gonna take the bait. Let me look. First of all, I’d encourage any Republican, if you care about the country, and I think all of us do, you should be focused not on a job a few years from now. You should be focused on the midterms. And that’s the approach that I’ve taken. I think people sometimes don’t believe me because they assume you’re the vice president; you must think about this all the time. What I’m focused on, man, is trying to get as many Republicans elected as possible so that we can do as much good as possible for the second two years of the Trump administration.”

Vance wrapped up his response by saying he could see himself supporting Hegseth and “a whole host of people” for president. Regarding Cruz, Vance called the senator “very authentic” and “likable.”

“And on Ted Cruz, I mean, look, man, he’s just clearly– Ted is a very authentic and likable guy, and I’m sure he’ll do great,” Vance stated.

Watch above via CNN.

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