Sen. Ted Cruz said Republicans will face a defining internal battle over the party’s direction ahead of the 2028 presidential race, arguing that there is no clear successor who can replicate Donald Trump’s singular political appeal.
In the latest episode of “Pod Force One,” the Texas Republican — a 2016 presidential contender who has acknowledged his own continued interest in the White House — told host Miranda Devine that the GOP should expect a crowded, competitive contest to choose President Trump’s successor.
Asked whether Vice President JD Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio could simply inherit Trump’s mantle, Cruz said Republican voters, rather than party leaders, would settle the question through a robust primary campaign.
“I think we are going to have a full and vigorous primary and discussion,” Cruz said. “I think the voters are going to decide who are we and what do we believe, and that matters.” He added that Trump stands apart as a political force: “President Trump is a unique historical figure. I’m going to say right now, there is no Donald Trump on the horizon to succeed [him].”
Cruz repeatedly declined to delve into a potential 2028 Republican primary matchup involving himself, Vance or Rubio, saying such speculation can wait until after the midterm elections.
“There will be plenty of time to have these conversations,” he told Devine. “We are less than two months out from the midterm election. This is the most consequential midterm I’ve ever seen in my life.”
Still, Cruz offered his assessment of the likely Democratic field, warning that the party’s ideological shift could lead to a far-left candidate reaching the Oval Office in 2029.
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“I think the Democrat Party has gotten radical and extreme, but what’s dangerous is radical and extreme can win,” Cruz said.
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“I don’t want to wake up in two years and find a radical, left-wing zealot in the White House, and I think there’s a very real danger of that,” he warned, while adding that someone like Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who is often described as a centrist, has no shot at winning the party’s nomination.
On the GOP side, Cruz explained that “as a party, we’re going to have a discussion … I think voters are going to say, ‘All right, who’s got the backbone, who has the strength, who has the record to continue this?’”
“And no one’s going to step into [Trump’s] shoes, but we’ve got to keep winning … and who can produce it?”
Cruz said the debate taking place within the GOP is about both foreign policy and economics.
“Economically, are we a small government, free market conservative party? Or are we a big government nanny state party?” he said.
“And related to that, on foreign policy, are we an isolationist party? Do we want to just withdraw from the world? Or do we believe in American leadership in the world?”