NYT's Maggie Haberman delivers blunt verdict on JD Vance's 2028 hopes

New York Times journalist Maggie Haberman delivered a blunt assessment of one of the GOP favorites to win the Republican nomination for president in 2028.

"What is going to happen in the next couple of years will impact whether JD Vance becomes president," Haberman said during an appearance on CNN on Friday. "His fate is tied to President Trump."

CNN anchor Kasie Hunt was asking Haberman for her input after Secretary of State Marco Rubio found himself in the discussion of possible 2028 candidates. Hunt said that "there is this shadow campaign going on between him and JD Vance," noting that Vance was in Iowa earlier in the week while Rubio was in the spotlight with the Pope.

"I don't think that Rubio is doing much to try to engage in a shadow campaign," Haberman countered. "Clearly, there are a lot of people who would like to see Marco Rubio run. I don't know that he is among them."

The way Haberman sees it, it's "the vice president's nomination to lose at the end of the day," and she pointed out that Trump's popularity is "ticking down" even though "he is still overwhelmingly popular among Republicans," she said.

"Vance is still an incredibly well-known figure," Haberman said. "He is much more popular with the base than almost anyone else I can think of who would be running right now."

She said Trump's declining popularity is already a disadvantage for Republicans heading into the midterms. "Right now, it's bad," she stressed. With enough donors, Vance can have a "structural advantage," but "what they're not at an advantage toward is President Trump's popularity."