President Donald Trump told reporters last week he considers Vice President JD Vance the ‘most likely’ Republican to succeed him, but a new report indicates he’s enjoying raising the prospect of a competition with Sen. Marco Rubio behind the scenes. 

‘Which one of you is going to be at the top of the ticket?’ Trump asked Vance and Rubio earlier this year, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing a ‘person with knowledge of the conversation.’ ‘I used to think it would be Vance-Rubio, but maybe it will be Rubio-Vance.’

The Wall Street Journal report is the latest demonstration of Trump’s zeal for stoking internecine warfare within his administration.

Trump believes the 2028 Republican nominee should have to earn the job, sources told the newspaper.

When asked by Fox News whether Vance was his ‘heir apparent’ to MAGA, Trump replied positively about his vice president before teeing up his secretary of state. 

‘I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,’ the president said, raising them as possible running mates.

Still, Vance, Trump said, ‘would be probably favorite at this point.’

Could Trump’s comments help cement a Vance-Rubio ticket four years ahead of the 2028 election? 

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio listen.

President Donald Trump, from left, speaks as Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio meet with

‘Let’s stay focused on the work in front of us, but I’ll say this much for now… JD Vance and Marco Rubio would be one of the most formidable presidential tickets ever assembled,’ Turning Point founder and CEO Charlie Kirk commented.

The Journal report also cited ‘people close to Rubio’ who said the Floridian, 54, would be willing to run for president with Vance, 41, as his running mate.

A source close to the White House dismissed the president’s reported comment as routine teasing between the two men.

‘While the president loves to tease people and I wouldn’t expect him to make a formal endorsement anytime soon, he was pretty clear last week in his public statements about who be believes will be the nominee in 2028,’ a source close to the White House told the Daily Mail.

‘He sees all the public polling and it’s pretty clear to those around him that he’s bullish on Vance’s chances,’ the source added.

An Emerson College Poll published in July showed that Vance leads the 2028 field with 42 percent support of GOP voters followed by Ron DeSantis at nine percent and Rubio in third place with seven percent. It had a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.

In public, both Rubio and Vance appear to be friendly and supportive of each other’s success in the administration, even as their supporters chat openly in Washington, DC about who is more qualified to succeed Trump. 

‘Marco is incredibly competent and reliable, and he’s also one of my closest friends in the administration,’ Vance told CNN in July.

On Fox News, Rubio said that he looked forward to a Vance run for president one day.

US Vice President JD Vance (R) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio shake hands during the American Compass Fifth Anniversary Gala

President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Oval Office

‘I think he’s doing a great job as vice president. He’s a close friend and I hope he intends to do it, but I know it’s kind of early,’ Rubio told Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law in a Fox News interview.

Rubio still has not ruled out a run himself.

‘You never know what the future holds,’ Rubio said in the same interview. ‘You never rule things out.’