Has Trump Telegraphed his Choice for the 2028 Presidential Election?
In politics, it’s never too early to discuss the next election, and while President Trump has yet to take office, the dynamics of the 2028 contest are too intriguing to resist speculation.
Trump is the Bull in the Leftist China Shop
The enigma that is Donald Trump will take historians decades to unravel. Trump’s honest and blunt talk was unexpectedly appealing to voters, and he answered a desperate call from a disgusted and despondent electorate that included more than half the country. He served as an extinguisher to the raging fire of globalism and political correctness that was burning out of control by 2016. The inferno was already branching off into dangerous subsets like Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness, the cancel culture, censorship, Critical Race Theory, mutilation of children and a myriad of other reprehensible leftist ideas.
I always felt that Trump became the de facto leader of the Republican Party during this specific moment of the 2016 campaign when he announced his candidacy in Trump Tower.
“They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, they’re rapists, and some, I assume, are good people.”
That single statement was like a dam bursting, and the pent up of emotions of millions of Americans who had been scolded, lectured, browbeaten and insulted came rushing through the breach like raging flood waters, picking up Trump and carrying him to the White House.
As president, Trump did not disappoint. He was like the proverbial bull in the leftist china shop. Dismantling the idea of a protected status for illegal aliens and globalists, Trump erected hundreds of miles of virtually impenetrable wall at the Mexican border, instituted a policy that forced illegal aliens to remain in Mexico, destroyed globalism by renegotiating NAFTA, raised tariffs on China and exposed the discredited fake news media.
To the left, all of these actions were tantamount to throwing a cat into a tub of cold water. They were shocked, horrified and outraged, and every Democrat in America breathed a huge sigh of relief when Joe Biden won (allegedly) the 2020 election.
But now, Trump is back, and there’s more china to be smashed.
The way the agenda is shaping up, Trump 2.0 is going to be more disruptive to the left than the original version, and this time, he knows exactly how the swamp operates.
So far, Trump has announced he will deport millions of illegal aliens, finish the border wall, ban men from playing in women’s sports, annex Canada, buy Greenland and take back the Panama Canal.
It’s pretty clear that by the time his new term is finished, all of the leftist’s china will lie in rubble.
The Republicans Lose their Trump Problem in 2028
Many of his supporters will admit that at some point, Trump fatigue inevitably sets in. The president has a relentless national fight/flight combative tone that can be exhausting after a while, and if the Republican brain trust was honest, they would admit that 2028 may be the perfect time for Donald Trump to return to Mara Lago to play a lot of rounds of golf, build his library (which no doubt will be bigger and more opulent than any in history) and offer his opinion to anyone who asks.
While the Trump’s stamp on the party is indelible, it’s generally agreed behind closed doors in hushed whispers that it would serve the interests of the party and the nation if the next Republican presidential candidate was ideologically aligned with MAGA but significantly more polished and less hostile.
Although a lot could change in four years, many analysts, like Bill O’Reilly and Mitt Romney for example, believe it’s JD Vance’s nomination to lose. Vance is young, principled and articulate, and his rehearsal in the vice-presidential debate with hapless Tim Walls was a resounding success.
However, Vance has one issue that’s a potential deal breaker. He was disloyal to Trump at one time. In fact, it’s public record that in 2016, Vance wrote a private message to a law school roommate that read:
“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a–hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler. How’s that for discouraging?”
You see, Donald Trump is huge on genuine loyalty that never wavers. While he welcomes converts, his actions indicate he never fully trusts them, especially in light of the betrayals by Miley, Wray, Bolton and others. No matter how persuasively Vance presents the case that he was simply wrong about Trump, I imagine there may be some lingering doubts in the president’s mind.
The Candidate with the Edge in 2028
So, who is Trump going to endorse, and has he left any breadcrumbs?
Yes, he has.
While strong candidates like Ted Cruz, Ron DeSantis, Tom Cotton, Josh Hawley, Sarah Huckabee-Sanders and a few others might mount a challenge to Vance, there is one candidate who seems to be emerging as Trump’s favorite.
The drum roll, please.
It’s Vivek Ramaswamy.
Vivek has been a staunch loyalist to Trump from the beginning, and although he technically ran against Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, Ramaswamy was very careful to offer nothing but praise for the president and the MAGA movement. Perhaps most importantly, he served as a Trump surrogate in the Republican primary debates, where he excoriated Nikki Haley, Trump’s only semi-serious challenger. Ramaswamy’s takedown of Haley was so devastating, he effectively ended her campaign. If we’re honest, at times, Ramaswamy defended Trump to the detriment of his own efforts.
Donald Trump does not forget that kind of stuff.
Once he dropped out of the race, Ramaswamy immediately endorsed Trump and campaigned vigorously right up until the election. Trump made it clear Ramaswamy would play a significant part in his administration, and there was much speculation as to exactly what position Vivek would be offered.
DOGE
When Trump named Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to head up the Department of Government Efficiency, it was a head scratching moment. DOGE was not an official department within the federal government, and it seemed like it would be another low priority, low visibility project like the Grace Commission from the 1980s.
Oh contrar
In fact, Doge has been in the news almost daily, while Vance has been MIA. Elon uses the X platform to promote his and Ramaswamy’s tweets that highlight outlandish waste in government. There is little argument that DOGE was the principal reason the monstrous 1500+ page Continuing Resolution was defeated and replaced with a streamlined 116 page bill.
Elon Musk contributed an estimated $277 million to the Trump campaign, roughly one quarter of the entire budget.
And now, Elon is working closely with Vivek on a daily basis, and by all reports, they are aligned on the vast majority of issues. Daily interaction on a passion they both share will inevitably lead to much closer personal ties. Now they’re starting a podcast together to keep America up to date on DOGE’s progress.
That sounds like friends to me.
Is it a coincidence that DOGE has a deadline of July 4th, 2026 to deliver their findings, which is right before the midterms and the beginning of the next presidential cycle?
Elon Musk is prohibited by law from running for president, and Donald Trump will be term limited. Yet, I think Trump, the ultimate strategist, has tipped his hand on his preference for 2028. Ramaswamy’s articulate and persuasive presence, coupled with Trump’s endorsement and Musk’s money, would make Ramaswamy a very formidable candidate.
Remember, you heard it here first.
