President Donald Trump has apparently been creating conflict within his own cabinet — pitting Secretary of State Marco Rubio against Vice President JD Vance in a quiet battle over who should succeed him.
The "bizarre succession game" reportedly happened during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida, just after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran in late February, according to The Daily Beast. Trump apparently asked his guests of about 25 GOP donors if he should plan to endorse Rubio or Vance.
While MAGA considers who should lead the coalition after Trump leaves office, Trump has appeared to start favoring Rubio as his successor, The Beast reported. He has privately started to poll his own administration officials and political donors.
The war in Iran has apparently elevated Rubio's position in the running, according to NBC News. And when Trump asked which of the two men should replace him, Rubio apparently got the loudest cheer.
“It was almost unanimous for Marco,” one person in the room, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, told NBC.
Another person in the room said support for both men was split.
Trump has turned to Rubio increasingly as the U.S. escalates its military operations.
"The president is said to seek his counsel regularly, and as State Department boss he has been front and center in Trump’s foreign policy-heavy approach to governance," The Beast reported.
It's unclear what Rubio plans to do, or if the former presidential candidate wants to run in 2028.
“The Mar-a-Lago donor crew are not JD people,” a former Trump administration official told NBC News. “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.”
Trump has previously signaled that Vance and Rubio would run together on the same ticket, but has appeared to shift his thoughts on that idea.
In August, Vance said he was more focused on the upcoming midterm elections than the 2028 presidential election.