Hey folks,
I joined NewsNation this week to talk about something that’s becoming impossible to ignore: the Republican race after Donald Trump has already started. You can see it in how J.D. Vance is positioning himself on domestic policy, how Marco Rubio is owning foreign policy wins, and how both are quietly auditioning to be the next standard-bearer.
The problem for them is that succession means ownership. Whoever comes next doesn’t just inherit Trump’s voters — they inherit his record. On the economy, immigration, and foreign policy, both Vance and Rubio are already tied to the administration’s results. Vance’s “affordability Titanic” line was revealing in ways he probably didn’t intend: voters aren’t patient, prices aren’t down, and blaming Joe Biden a year into this presidency just sounds weak.
What makes this even harder is the message dissonance. Trump is telling the world there’s no inflation and no problem, while his vice president is back home trying to explain why things are still broken. That tension isn’t just bad politics — it opens the door for someone outside the administration to undercut both of them.
The post-Trump fight isn’t coming. It’s here. And the weight of Trump’s record may end up being the hardest thing for any would-be successor to escape.
—Mike
