President Donald Trump reportedly asked major GOP donors who they would choose to succeed him when he leaves office.
On Feb. 28, Trump met with about 25 Republican donors, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and asked who they think should be the GOP presidential nominee in 2028, according to NBC News. It appears Secretary of State Marco Rubio was the favorite.
Attendees overwhelmingly indicated Secretary of State Marco Rubio through their cheering, according to two people who were at the event.
“It was almost unanimous for Marco,” said a person in attendance, who, like others in this article, was granted anonymity to speak candidly.
“Yeah, that’s right,” said the second attendee about the informal Trump poll. “It was clear, at least that night.”
Another person in the room characterized the response as more “evenly split” between Rubio and Vance.
That small gathering in Florida — Rubio’s home state — doesn’t necessarily mean that Rubio is the new favorite over Vice President JD Vance for 2028.
“The Mar-a-Lago donor crew are not JD people,” a former Trump administration official said. “He did not get picked [to be vice president] because of the Mar-a-Lago crowd. If you remember, that crowd was lobbying the president to pick Marco.”
“So, I’d say stuff like that is a bit gamed,” the former official added. “If there were a poll taken tomorrow, I’d bet JD is still up by 40 [points], or whatever it is.”
At a recent Mar-a-Lago gathering, Trump informally asked about 25 Republican donors and allies whether they would prefer Marco Rubio or JD Vance as the GOP presidential candidate in 2028.
— Clash Report (@clashreport) March 9, 2026
According to attendees, the room overwhelmingly responded in favor of Rubio, with loud… pic.twitter.com/hEvG3Qw7Al
Last month, Trump asked the same question of White House advisers. Most in his inner circle favored Vice President JD Vance as the heir to the MAGA movement. Axios reported that the president continues to look at Vance as his eventual successor and that a Vance/Rubio race would be “the president’s dream ticket.”
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Marco Rubio is incredible.
— Cryptid Politics (@CryptidPolitics) March 8, 2026
Here he is breaking out into perfect Spanish as a translator for President Trump.
Rubio is a can’t-miss general election candidate for 2028.
He outpaces Vance on every front.
pic.twitter.com/QxfTAK8wX0
Republican voters also appear to favor Vance, according to recent polling. Several national and state surveys show the vice president well ahead of other possible contenders. One survey of likely GOP primary voters for 2028 showed Vance with a majority of support while Rubio and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis lag far behind in the teens or single digits.
An Emerson College survey of GOP voters puts Vance above 50 percent nationally with Rubio and DeSantis in the single digits. However, a large portion are still undecided.
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