Prominent GOP Senator Already Rejects JD Vance For President In 2028
Ron Dicker
Mon, December 22, 2025 at 10:09 AM UTC
2 min read
Sen. Rand Paul is not jumping on the JD Vance bandwagon for president in 2028. (Watch the video below.)
The Kentucky Republican strongly suggested he would not back the vice president, even as Vance tracks fairly well in early polling to succeed President Donald Trump.
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Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week” Sunday noted to Paul that Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have already backed Vance.
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“Is JD Vance the heir-apparent here?” the newsman asked.
Paul danced at first in criticizing the administration’s trade wars before Karl elicited a more definite answer.
“I think there needs to be representatives in the Republican Party who still believe international trade is good, who still believe in free market capitalism, who still believe in low taxes,” Paul said. “It used to separate conservatives and liberals that conservatives thought it was a spending problem — we didn’t want more revenue, we wanted less spending.”
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“But now all these pro-tariff protectionists, they love taxes. And so they tax, tax, tax, and then they brag about all the revenue coming in,” Paul continued. “That has never been a conservative position.”
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“So I’m going to continue to try to lead a conservative free-market wing in the party, and we’ll see where things lead over time.”
“And that’s not JD Vance?” Karl asked.
Paul hesitated for a moment. “No,” he replied.
Paul has opposed Trump and Vance on several issues lately beyond tariffs, including the legally questionable strikes on suspected drug smugglers at sea, the administration’s attacks on six Congressional Democrats who made a video reminding service members they can reject “unlawful orders” and the presidential pardon of Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, a convicted drug trafficker.
