President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he has not spoken to Vice President JD Vance about a possible endorsement if Vance announces a run for president in 2028.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he doesn’t “think we’ve ever talked about it,” answering a question about recent comments from Vance that he believes Trump would back him.
“He’s a very talented person, and he’s a very good person,” the president said of his vice president.
Vance, who stood beside Trump during the White House event, indicated that the two have not spoken about an endorsement. Other Trump administration officials at the president’s side were Federal Trade Commission Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz.
It’s “very early right now” to make an endorsement, Trump told reporters. “We have to get through the midterms.” He added that he has a rally to attend soon in North Carolina.
The Nov. 3 midterm elections will determine whether Republicans or Democrats control the House of Representatives, the Senate, or both. The GOP currently has small majorities in both chambers.
The question was asked after Vance recently told journalist Mark Halperin in an interview that aired Monday that he believes Trump would endorse him if he runs for president.
“I really have not made up my mind about what to do in 2028. I just haven’t focused on it. We, you, and I have talked about that. Look, I think if I run, the president will endorse me,” the vice president said.
“I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their own race, and because the president’s endorsement is so dispositive, you could absolutely see a scenario where the president says, ‘We need to let this race play out,’ and not like preemptively prejudge the results,” Vance said. “But I also haven’t talked to him about it yet.”
Trump has been able to sway elections with his endorsement, including in Texas when earlier this year he backed Senate candidate and state Attorney General Ken Paxton over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Paxton defeated Cornyn in the GOP primary.
In 2022, Trump endorsed Vance in his run for Ohio’s U.S. Senate seat during the Republican primary, a race that Vance won.
Last week, the vice president indicated he’d wait until after the midterms before making an announcement on whether he’d run for president, noting that he and second lady Usha Vance have four small children.
Vance told CBS News there’s “a chance” he could not run. “We’ve got four little kids. My wife has never loved politics; she loves public service.”
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