In the media world, the phrase “developing story” refers to the potential for new facts and changing circumstances that can alter the reporting. Thus, Vice President JD Vance’s apparent quest to win his boss’s job three and a half years from now is the perpetually “developing story” that began less than 24 hours after President Trump's second inauguration.
Officially, “Vance 2028” is merely political speculation. The vice president has not announced his presidential intentions, commented, hinted, or established any campaign infrastructure, except for various iterations of JDVance2028.com, reserved at GoDaddy.
Any Vance influencer can still buy www.electJDVance.com for only $47,000 if enticed by the sales pitch: “This domain is more than just a web address; it’s a digital platform for those who believe in his policies, his vision for the future and his potential to lead the nation to greatness from the Oval Office.”
Buyer beware!
Modern presidential politics is marked by unexpected events that significantly affect election results or candidates who misjudge the electorate, even weeks or days leading up to primaries and general elections.
Consider the July 2024 campaign withdrawal of President Joe Biden and the quickie nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris. Ask President Hillary Clinton about Donald Trump’s 2016 victory and his 2024 comeback. And then recall the New York Post headline from November 9, 2022, boldly declaring that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was “DeFuture” of the Republican Party.
The latter is why I cringed at the March 22 New York Post headline: “How JD Vance already took a giant step toward locking up 2028 Republican nomination for president.”
This was “news” from their White House reporter, not an opinion piece from a rabid fan. Quoted was “Republican strategist Dennis Lennox,” proclaiming, “The idea that Vance is not going to be the Republican nominee in 2028 is absurd.” Lennox theorized, “Holding all the primaries and caucuses and the convention in Houston will waste time and money that would otherwise be spent on defeating the Democrat nominee.”
Whoa, do Republican voters get a say? Has representative democracy ended? Will Republicans forget that the 2024 Democrats suffered disastrous consequences in part for failing to hold a genuine primary?
Dennis Lennox is a friend, and I understand his perspective. Vance appears to be Trump’s heir apparent. Truth be told, there are no Republican presidential wannabes with spines of steel and the unlimited resources needed to fight Team Trump’s aggressive machine.
Furthermore, as a frontman by design, the vice president attracts vast media attention, only surpassed by President Trump and DOGE “co-president” Elon Musk.
After 10 weeks in office, Vance has emerged as the most powerful and polarizing vice president since Dick Cheney served under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. But whereas Cheney was never positioned to ...
