President Trump will be announcing his running mate within the next few days, and opinions are flying about the qualities he should seek in his next vice president. Experience, state of origin, race, sex, loyalty, and past comments regarding President Trump are all factors voters are focusing on when deciding their preferred candidate to round out the Republican ticket. The common goal is to draw turnout from as many typically non-Republican voting demographics as possible. However, the most consistent theme is that many seem to believe that Trump needs to pick someone who can be his successor.
A day is like a year in politics. Less than two years ago, the small and shrinking but noticeable establishment wing of the Republican party rolled out a campaign to discard President Trump by promoting Ron DeSantis as the most viable 2024 option. Just months later, DeSantis’s disastrous campaign concluded with a historic Iowa Caucus victory for President Trump, with DeSantis dashing any future presidential ambitions he may have had for 2028 or beyond in the process. In the early 2010s, Reps. Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and Kevin McCarthy were deemed the “Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders.” All three have since retired from public office, two as a result of humiliating defeats. There are many instances like these, which prove that attempting to project a viable successor for an election nearly five years from now, as opposed to seeking out whoever will be most effective in advancing the agenda of the next four years, would be unwise. This is especially true considering that history shows that a sitting vice president ascending to the presidency is a rarity in modern politics.
Throughout America’s history, eight sitting vice presidents have sought the presidency upon their term as vice president ending. Four of them — John Breckinridge, Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, and Al Gore — lost the general election, halting their party’s momentum by handing power over to the opposition party. Of the four who emerged victorious, just one, Thomas Jefferson, went on to serve two full terms, over 200 years ago. The other three victors — John Adams, Martin Van Buren, and George H.W. Bush — all lost their re-election bids as incumbent presidents. This means that the argument that Trump must find the 2028 Republican nominee for president right now is flawed and ill informed, as trying to determine the best option for four years from now prior to seeing how everything unfolds would be putting the cart before the horse.
Instead, Trump voters should base their vice presidential preference on who will be fully dedicated to helping advance President Trump’s agenda over the next four years. President Trump inherited a weak economy, a worsening immigration crisis, and a hostile North Korea from Barack Obama in early 2017. If he returns to the White House on January 20, all of those would pale in comparison to what he will inherit from Joe Biden. The illegal alien crisis is implausibly worse now than it was then, hostile foreign affairs have expanded beyond North Korea, and government weaponization is now a very real and present danger to America. Therefore, America would be best served if Trump’s vice president were fully committed to tackling the present issues for all 1,461 days of the next Trump term, as opposed to planning a White House bid halfway through it.
For those still concerned that this approach might jeopardize 2028 for Republicans, consider the following: no endorsement in American political history has ever been as powerful as President Trump’s. Right now, there is a hunger among all races, religions, and creeds to return to what we had under Trump, which has given him more momentum than ever before. If this strong show of support extends down the ballot, Trump will likely achieve the policy proposals outlined in his Agenda 47. If this comes to fruition, the Republican party would possess a quasi-incumbency advantage, as Trump can serve only one more term. This means Trump’s 2028 coattails would be longer than ever, as the nation would be motivated to ensure Trump’s successful approach to governing and that his vision for America (the MAGA movement) continue long into the future. Whether the person Trump endorses served as vice president or not — often cited as one of the most loosely defined roles in the federal government — would be largely irrelevant, despite all the attention it is getting now. Instead, it is far more likely that the vast majority of the electorate would unify around Trump’s judgment on who is most worthy to take up the MAGA mantle, given that he is the architect of it.
If we as a nation are fortunate enough to have a vice president who is a key player in the successes of the next Trump administration and emerges as the consensus choice to become the 48th president, that will be a great thing. However, suggesting that the only path to a 2028 Republican victory is for Trump to pick that person now is rooted more in fear than in facts or data. In fact, since history is the only semi-reliable measuring stick for something like this, there is a greater chance the opposite of the intended result would occur.
It has been a brutal four years in our nation’s history, and people are understandably anxious about not only the immediate, but also the long-term future of America. However, if we focus too far into the future at the expense of the present, there may not be a country left to fight for based on the current trajectory. Therefore, the focus should be on delivering the most prosperous four years in American history to spark a revival of the American spirit never before seen. If we as a nation can accomplish that, 2028 will take care of itself, with President Trump’s final parting gift as president being the endorsement he gives to represent the Republican Party, whether it be his vice president or another.
Matt Kane graduated from Stony Brook University with a Bachelor’s degree in political science. His work has been posted by President Trump and published by Human Events, Real Clear Politics, American Thinker, and AMAC. Follow on Truth Social: @MattKane X, @MattKaneUSA.
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