In a move that highlights his unconventional approach, President Donald Trump is setting the stage for a potential 2028 showdown between Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The President is seeking to measure their popularity as he considers who might succeed him.

During a gathering at his Mar-a-Lago estate, Trump engaged with donors to gather their opinions on his two key lieutenants. This occurred just a day after he took decisive action by launching military operations against Iran.

The President has previously employed similar tactics to gauge the sentiments of his inner circle. Sources from the event, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, revealed that Trump posed the question to the assembled donors: “What do you think of JD Vance and Marco Rubio?”

As the guests dined on sumptuous dishes like jumbo crab and rib-eye steaks, Rubio emerged as the crowd favorite, earning more enthusiastic applause compared to Vance. Attendees noted that the Secretary of State’s reception was noticeably more exuberant.

Both men, Vance at 41 and Rubio at 54, share a past as senators and a passion for football. However, their appeal varies across different regions of the country, making them intriguing contenders in Trump’s vision for the 2028 political landscape.

Vance, 41, and Rubio, 54, both former senators and football fans with differing appeal depending on where in the country one may be from – whether they like it or not – are at the heart of Trump’s 2028 sweepstakes. 

Currently, Vance leads early polling to become the GOP’s 2028 presidential nominee according to an exclusive survey by the Daily Mail and JL Partners.

Nineteen percent of respondents said Vance is the most influential member of Trump’s inner circle. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was second with 12 percent.

President Donald Trump has asked donors and advisors their thoughts comparing Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance

At a Mar-a-Lago dinner with donors the day after the US-Israeli initial strike on Iran, Trump asked the group over steak and crab what they made of his two lieutenants 

Vance’s midwestern charm and hillbilly roots combined with his Ivy League education and Silicon Valley experience have charmed a wide swath of the ‘new right,’ including Donald Trump Jr, Tucker Carlson, Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk, Palantir CEO Alex Karp and GOP megadonor Jeff Yass. 

Rubio’s fluency in Spanish and high-profile foreign relations projects have minted the son of Cuban immigrants as a capable statesman who also appears comfortable in big moments on the world stage, yet relatable through a barrage of positive memes and virally charismatic rendition of Pitbull’s ‘Fireball.’ 

The President’s interest in who succeeds him in the 2028 election has thrust both Vance and Rubio into a rivalry of sorts, despite Vance claiming that Rubio is his best friend in the administration. 

Rubio received a louder applause, sources in the room told the WSJ

But Vance, Trump said on Monday, was ‘less enthusiastic’ about going to war with Iran. The President and the Vice President differ ‘philosophically’ on the matter, Trump told reporters at a press conference in Florida. 

Last month, Donald Trump Jr warned that there was a social media campaign to tarnish Vance that was ‘arguably the most obvious and flagrant operation I’ve ever seen in the history of social media.’

Meanwhile, the President has repeatedly said that Marco Rubio will be known as the greatest diplomat in US history. And Rubio has been front and center in much of the coverage of Iran. 

‘Marco is going to go down, I think, as the best secretary of state in history. That’s my opinion. Now, I’m a little prejudiced because I like him,’ Trump said over the weekend. 

Though Trump has said Vance will ‘likely’ be the heir apparent to the Republican empire, the President has propped up Rubio recently.  

Trump has also mentioned that the two Republicans should team up. 

‘I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form,’ the President said last year.

At a recent Board of Peace event, Trump noted the difference in approach between the Vice President and the Secretary of State.

‘He gets a little bit tough on occasion; we gotta slow him down on occasion,’ Trump said of the VP.

Vance has said that Rubio is his best friend in the Trump adminsitration

The two former Senators are frequently seen laughing together at White House events

‘Marco is my closest friend in the administration,’ Vance told Fox News in late February

‘Then we have the opposite extreme,’ the President pivoted. ‘Marco does it with a velvet glove. But it’s a kill.’

The Secretary’s diplomatic approach extends to his potential 2028 primary opponent.

‘If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him,’ Rubio told Vanity Fair last year. 

Vance still holds the most sway over the president, the latest Daily Mail/JL Partners poll over registered voters taken this month found. The poll of 1,020 registered voters was conducted between March 2 and March 3 with a 3.1 percent margin of error.

Nineteen percent of respondents said the Vice President is the most influential member of Trump’s inner circle. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was second with 12 percent, followed by Donald Trump Jr. and Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, tied for third place.

The same poll, which was taken after the military strikes began, shows Rubio’s approval rating sank from a high of 40 percent in February to 36 percent on Friday.

Thirty-four percent disapprove of Rubio. Seventeen percent offered a neutral position and another 14 percent were unsure.

But the two deny any animus.  

‘Marco is my closest friend in the administration,’ Vance told Fox News in late February. ‘I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict.’

Representatives for Vance and Rubio did not immediately respond to a request for comment.