Trump Publicly Humiliates JD Vance With Brutal Snub Right To His Face

Who does Donald Trump want to succeed him? And why does he keep implying that he doesn’t want it to be JD Vance?

According to a Fortune interview, Trump did that again on Monday, during an Oval Office interview with Vance present.

The final question in the interview was about Trump’s succession plans.

“Which tees up my final question: Who does the president feel can best carry on his dealmaking legacy? Don Jr., Marco Rubio, JD Vance? After I pose my question, I realize the vice president has quietly slipped into the back of the room and will catch Trump’s answer,” the Fortune writer, editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, said.

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“Whoever gets this [job] is going to be very important,” Trump answered. “And if you get the wrong person: disaster.”

In just eight months, the government’s Intel position has grown to be worth more than $50 billion, Trump says. “Do I get credit for it? Does anybody even know I did that?” https://t.co/vVondmXtJ1 pic.twitter.com/fYdntRwMVB

— Alyson Shontell (@ajs) May 18, 2026

Trump did not, at any point, promise Vance would serve as his successor, even as Vance was in the room at the time.

The Daily Beast had more about the exchange, while continuing to note that Trump frequently asks people who should succeed him as Republican standard-bearer, and possibly as president.

“It is widely expected that either Vance or Rubio will be the frontrunner for the 2028 presidential nomination, with the vice president considered the natural MAGA heir to Trump,” the Beast said. “However, Trump has never offered anything other than a lukewarm-at-best endorsement of Vance to run for president. Rubio is also seemingly gaining more influence within the Trump administration, including taking on several roles at once and being trusted to travel to the Vatican to ease tensions caused by the president’s feud with Pope Leo XIV.”

Rubio has said in the past that he would not run for president if Vance does, and if Rubio were to run for president, he would almost certainly have to resign as secretary of state.

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