Jd Vance Jokes There’s No ‘apprentice’-like Race To Replace Trump After He’s Asked About Marco Rubio

Vice President JD Vance connected Wednesday brushed disconnected President Donald Trump’s wont of polling friends, friends and meal guests connected whether he aliases Secretary of State Marco Rubio would make a amended 2028 Republican statesmanlike nominee, telling reporters astatine a press conference that Trump was simply joking around.

Vance was speaking alongside CMS administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to item nan administration's latest efforts to combat what they picture arsenic an pandemic of nationalist benefits fraud erstwhile he was asked astir a Monday incident successful which Trump conducted an informal straw canvass of whether visiting rule enforcement officials and different friends astatine a White House Rose Garden meal preferred him aliases Rubio.

“I don't cognize who's it going to beryllium — Is it going to beryllium JD, is it going to beryllium personification else? I don't know,” he said.

The president past turned to his guests for their views.

“Okay, who likes JD Vance?”

After diners responded pinch tepid applause, Trump asked different question: “Who likes Marco Rubio?”

Asked astir nan incident, Vance responded pinch lighthearted sarcasm by referencing Trump’s clip arsenic a tv reality show presenter.

“Well, I conscionable don't deliberation it sounds for illustration nan President of nan United States to person a televised title for who would win him arsenic his apprentice. I conscionable deliberation that's not astatine each what you would expect nan President to do,” he said.

Vance added a caveat that Trump has “always been fascinated by politics” and said it was “natural for him to, you know, joke astir pinch america a small bit, to play astir pinch nan idea.”

The vice president besides expressed immoderate discomfort astatine nan thought of moreover reasoning astir a associated summons pinch Rubio 2 years from now, telling reporters location were “few topics that I want to talk astir little past what agency I'm going to tally for years down nan road.”

But Vance besides appeared to crook complete backwards not to contradict Trump erstwhile pressed connected nan president’s declare that nan plight of Americans uncovering it harder and harder to make ends meet and rising state and user prices simply aren’t connected his mind arsenic the months-long Iran warfare and impasse complete nan Strait of Hormuz proceed to fuel surging ostentation in nan United States.

Asked astir whether Americans’ pocketbooks were connected his mind erstwhile considering what to do astir nan longstanding standoff, Trump told reporters: "I don't deliberation astir Americans’ financial business — I don't deliberation astir anybody. I deliberation astir 1 thing: We cannot fto Iran person a atomic weapon."

The speech was made unrecorded connected tv arsenic he departed nan White House for China connected Tuesday.

But a time later, Vance denied that Trump had said it astatine each erstwhile asked astir nan comments.

“Well, I don't deliberation nan President said that,” he said. “I deliberation that's a misrepresentation of what nan President said.”