Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
He did not say who he wants as president though.
US President Donald Trump turned a recent dinner gathering into an impromptu audition.
According to The Independent, he used a White House Rose Garden event to test the waters for his potential political heirs.
The crowd became a live focus group. The president asked his guests to clap and cheer for his current vice president, JD Vance, and his secretary of state, Marco Rubio.
He wanted to see exactly how the audience felt about a future partnership between the two prominent Republicans.
Keeping them guessing
Trump flatly refused to say which man should actually lead the hypothetical campaign. He teased the audience about who might take the top spot.
“Who is it going to be? Is it going to be JD? Is it going to be somebody else? I don’t know,” Trump told the crowd, according to recent press reports.
He then launched a quick poll. “OK, let’s go, are you ready? Who likes JD Vance? Who likes Marco Rubio?” he asked the attendees.
The perfect ticket
After hearing the applause, the president seemed satisfied. He quickly praised the idea of pairing his two cabinet members together.
“All right, sounds like a good ticket. That was a perfect ticket,” he declared.
He pushed the idea further while giving himself a clear exit route. “By the way, I do believe that’s a dream team, but these are minor details,” Trump added.
He clarified that this was a casual observation. “That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance,” he noted.
Even without an official blessing, Trump made his overall vision obvious. “I think it sounds like a presidential candidate and vice-presidential candidate,” he concluded.
Third-term hint
The US Constitution bars Donald Trump from running for a third term, but the POTUS has previously hinted at staying in the Oval Office.
In March 2025, he told NBC News that there are “methods” for doing so, referring to running for a third term.
In March 2026, Trump made headlines once again when he hosted business leaders at the White House. According to The Economic Times, Trump then joked about leaving office in “eight or nine years”.
Sources: The Independent, The Hill, RBC-Ukraine, The Economic Times, NBC News
