“If, God forbid, there’s a terrible tragedy, I can’t think of better on-the-job training than what I’ve gotten over the last 200 days,” said Vice President JD Vance this week during an exclusive interview with USA Today. He was responding to a question about whether he would be ready to step in if anything were to happen to President Donald Trump.
Vance, 41, also assured the outlet that Trump, 79, is in “incredibly good health” and has “incredible energy.” In fact, he said the president is often the first one on his team who is up making calls in the morning and the last one making calls at night.
While on the campaign trail last year, people were concerned about the ages of both Trump and former President Joe Biden, 82, who ended up dropping out of the race. Both have already exceeded the average life expectancy in the U.S., per U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Since Trump has taken office, there has been even more of an intense spotlight on his health. In July, Audacy reported on his chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) diagnosis. That is a vascular condition.
Sean P. Barbabella, physician to the president, in a memorandum that the condition is “benign and common,” especially in individuals over the age 70. This month, photos of the president with what appeared to be bruising and makeup on his hands reignited rumors about his health. However, Barbabella did note in that memo that bruising is common in people who take aspirin.
“Hand bruising has nothing to do with venous insufficiency in the legs,” Peter Henke, immediate past chair of the American Heart Association’s Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease told STAT recently. “I don’t know his personal medical record, obviously, but if he is on aspirin, that can certainly lead to easy bruising.”
STAT said easy bruising also becomes more common as people age. Still, rumors keep swirling. In a Friday post on his Substack, conservative political commenter Rick Wilson claimed that “Trump is dying” and that “Vance knows” – The Daily Beast also said the Substack claimed a “MAGA Hunger Games” is playing out in the capital.
“Wilson said ‘rumors from the Trumpverse’ indicate that Vice President JD Vance is ‘moving fast’ in this shuffling of power behind the scenes, positioning himself to take over the MAGA movement sooner rather than later,” the Daily Beast said.
Vance is already the frontrunner to win the 2028 presidential election, according to betting site Polymarket. As of Friday, he was in the lead with 28%, followed by Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom at 19%, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) at 8% and former Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg at 5%. Vance was also in the lead of the pack of potential GOP candidates at 53%, followed by current Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 9.8%, political strategist Steve Bannon at 4.3% and Trump at 3.9%.
Technically, Trump should not be able to run in 2028 due to term limits, but he has joked about taking on a third term. If he were to somehow run and win in the 2028 election, Trump would be 82 at the start of that term.
CNN also reported this month that prominent Republicans are making moves ahead of the 2028 election. Eric Bradner said that for the most part, GOP power players are moving to align themselves with the president.
“They can’t be seen as at odds with him,” Bradner said. “They’re trying to stand out in their own ways, but they can’t be seen as going against Trump and suggesting that he is ineligible for a third term, even though the Constitution makes that crystal clear to be problematic.”
What would Vance be like as president? Audacy noted last year that he was trying to soften his image while on the campaign trail after going viral for slights against cat ladies and rumors about eyeliner. However, he’s already had some notably aggressive moments as VP, including his approach to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this year. Like Trump, he’ll clap back at criticism online, such as this Friday X post about a piece in POLTICO.
Last November, Mother Jones addressed what might come from a Vance presidency. It noted his support for bans on abortion and transgender healthcare, his criticism of sending military aid to Ukraine and more.
As for what’s happening on the other side of the aisle, Newsom’s polling has surged this month as he ramps up meme-centered criticism of Trump on social media. For example, this week the 57-year-old governor seemed to suggest that the president has dementia.
Emerson College polling released Friday showed that Newsom had 25% support from Democrats, a 13-point jump compared to its June polling. It showed that Vance had support from 52% of Republicans. In a hypothetical 2028 election matchup between Vance and Newsom, Emerson polling the potential candidates were tied with 44% support respectively.
Polymarket data had Newsom’s likelihood of being the candidate even higher at 32% on Friday. Ocasio-Cortez, Buttigieg and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson rounded out the top four, with Johnson edging out former Vice President Kamala Harris and making headlines.
Apart from concerns about Trump’s age and health, there are other worries. While campaigning last year, Trump survived multiple assassination attempts, including the Pennsylvania incident where a bullet clipped his ear.
“Yes, terrible tragedies happen,” Vance said during his USA Today interview. “But I feel very confident the president of the United States is in good shape, is going to serve out the remainder of his term and do great things for the American people.”
According to Polymarket, there aren’t many people putting money on Vance announcing a presidential run this year. Its likelihood was at just 6% as of Friday.