Trump hints at who will take over MAGA after he is out of the White House

With Donald Trump being termed out after this term, the question now is who will take over the MAGA crown once he leaves office.

Trump just offered a hint as to who that would be, but there is still one figure out there lurking that Trump’s successor will have to deal with.

Not seeking third term

While Trump has been toying with the idea of finding a way to run for a third term, he finally dismissed the idea.

This weekend, on “Meet the Press,” Trump was asked directly by host Kristen Welker if he would seek a third term.

Trump responded, "It’s something that, to the best of my knowledge, you’re not allowed to do. I don’t know if that’s constitutional. But this is not something I’m looking to do."

I have to keep stressing this to hold him accountable. This narrative got started because of Trump, even though he is now portraying this differently. I feel he would have been far better off saying he was only joking and doing this to poke the left than to point fingers in other directions now that many conservatives have made it clear they would not support a loophole third term.

Trump offers two favorites

I think most of us believed that when Trump named JD Vance as his VP, that made Vance the automatic heir to the MAGA throne, but now I am not sure that is the case.

Trump was asked who he sees as the next leader of MAGA, and he responded, “It’s far too early to say that. But you know, I do have a vice president … and JD’s doing a fantastic job.”

I expected that, but I did not expect the next part, with Trump continuing, “I don’t want to get involved in that. I think he’s a fantastic, brilliant guy. Marco is great. There’s a lot of them that are great. We have a lot of good people in this party.”

Did Rubio make a deal with Trump to be Secretary of State for an endorsement in 2028? I guess we will find out in about two years.

One more name

Everyone is ready to hand the nomination to Vance in 2028, but some of us are looking in other directions, and that one name is still out there… Governor Ron DeSantis, whom I openly supported during the 2024 race.

I still believe we missed a golden opportunity to install a two-term president who could have had eight years instead of four to make changes, but there is nothing we can do about that now.

DeSantis is not going away, but I question how much damage was done to his reputation and political profile during the 2024 race from the attacks by Trump and his supporters. I hate to say it, but I think as far as a 2028 run goes, DeSantis is likely dead in the water, and would need the GOP to lose in 2028 to resurrect his chances of becoming president.

My beliefs were recently confirmed in a poll by McLaughlin and Associates that showed Vance at 27%, and Donald Trump Jr., if you can believe that, at 21%, with Ron DeSantis trailing significantly at only 8% support. Now, a lot can change in two or three years, but that is not a good sign for DeSantis. And if Vance does run and win in 2028, then I believe DeSantis’ hopes of becoming president are dead in the water. Which is a true shame because I think he would have made an outstanding president had he won or if he wins in the future.