Kathrine Frich
Don Jr. quickly turn the criticism into a badge of honor.
When a political party suffers a crushing defeat, even the closest alliances can start to show cracks.
Behind closed doors, long-time friends have to decide whether to stick together or point fingers as the next big race approaches.
Now, one high-profile voice has stepped in to make his loyalty clear.
Backing an old friend
According to the Irish Star, Donald Trump Jr. has thrown his support behind Vice President JD Vance for a possible 2028 presidential bid. The president’s oldest son has been close to the 42-year-old vice president since reading his book Hillbilly Elegy and backing his early political rise, multiple reports cited by the outlet noted.
While Vance has dodged questions about his plans since last week’s elections, the Irish Star reported he could launch a White House campaign any day now.
The show of support started on X after veteran political adviser Karl Rove attacked the vice president.
According to a post quoted by the Irish Star, “Rove stated unequivocally that Vance ‘should not be president of the United States, nor the Republican nominee.'”
Rove also called Vance a “neo-isolationist” who would “bankrupt our economy and make the world a far more dangerous place by abandoning” Israel.
Don Jr. quickly turned that criticism into a badge of honor. “I don’t think there could be a bigger endorsement for JD or any Republican for that matter, than to be opposed by king RINO Karl Rove,” he wrote on X, using the slang acronym for Republicans in Name Only, according to the Irish Star.
“If Karl Rove hates you, then you must be doing something right. Being praised by Karl Rove would be the mother of all red flags!!!!”
Breaking over the war
That warm backing comes even after Vance delivered a blunt verdict on the Republican Party’s heavy midterm losses.
Months earlier, the vice president said the midterm outcome would help decide his 2028 plans, the Irish Star reported, and after the Democratic sweep, he pointed straight at the administration’s foreign conflict.
“The reason we lost is the war,” Vance wrote, before adding, “The president himself said so last night.”
For months, rumors suggested Vance opposed the war privately while backing President Donald Trump in public, according to the Irish Star. His latest comments brought that split into the open.
“If you’d like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that’s at least honest,” Vance added.
Speaking to the BBC, foreign policy expert Daniel Byman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Vance’s comment looked like “a way of separating himself from Trump.” Even so, Don Jr.’s latest remarks show the vice president still has a key family ally in his corner for 2028, the Irish Star noted.
