Trump administration insiders are now leaning towards Secretary of State Marco Rubio taking the helm of the party in 2028, Politico reported on Friday.
"Some of President Donald Trump’s closest confidantes increasingly see Marco Rubio as a serious 2028 contender — an acknowledgement of the Floridian’s savvy handling of foreign conflicts and his ability to avoid political land mines," said the report. "It’s a striking turnaround for a politician once dismissed as too hawkish, too establishment and too scarred by a failed 2016 presidential campaign to matter in a post-Trump GOP. But his work on deposing Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and his steadfast loyalty to Trump have boosted him in the West Wing – and among some MAGA voters."
In addition to that work, Rubio oversaw the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was a top priority of some of Trump's most isolationist allies.
"Rubio has said he would not challenge Vance for the nomination and it remains to be seen whether his conversion to MAGA politics could win a majority of Trump’s base if he did run," said the report. "For now, his growing number of admirers in the president’s inner circle describe Rubio’s belated embrace to Trumpism as a selling point. Trump loves the zeal of a convert and it’s a welcome contrast to some old-school Republican elites who shunned the party or avoided Washington rather than reconcile with the president."
Trump strategist Alex Bruesewitz lauded Rubio, telling Politico, "He could have gone one of two routes after the 2016 campaign. He could have gone the route of John Kasich and begin to suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome and fade into the abyss," yet instead he “chose the route of embracing MAGA and becoming one of MAGA’s staunchest allies and advocates.”
Rubio's previous attempt to run for president in 2016, in which he and Trump routinely went for each others' throats, was widely regarded as a disaster, barely gaining traction in key primaries.