The man most Republicans assume will inherit President Donald Trump’s coalition just got a blunt reality check from two of the friendliest microphones in conservative media.
Fox News host Brian Kilmeade and Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume, 83, each raised doubts about Vice President JD Vance’s strength with Republican voters during a broadcast of “The Brian Kilmeade Show” on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, with neither man ready to hand Vance the 2028 nomination.
“I just don’t think Vance is as popular as he thinks he is with Republicans,” Kilmeade said on his radio program. Vance, widely viewed as the early front-runner for the Republican nomination, has not committed to running.
Joined at the Hip to Trump
Hume, asked about the shape of the next Republican field, said everyone talks about Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vance. He voiced a suspicion about the vice president: Vance is everybody’s idea of the front-runner, and he may be.
Hume called Vance’s being joined at the hip to Trump an open question — an asset or a drag depending on where the country lands. His own view is that it would end up hurting Vance.
“A lot depends on how the public and the party feel about Donald Trump by the time 2028 rolls around,” Hume said.
Kilmeade pushed back on the Trump question. He expects the race to end differently than Hume does, citing the administration’s handling of Iran, and said the task for Trump is turning his policies into legislation so the country avoids whiplash if a Democrat wins. On Vance’s popularity, he did not budge.
55% Say Unfavorable
An Economist/YouGov poll taken Oct. 23-26 found that 55% of likely voters view Vance unfavorably and 41% view him favorably. His standing has tracked Trump’s downward drift in recent months, with the second term nearing its halfway mark.
Kilmeade asked Hume whether Republicans would get into double figures with candidates in 2028, and predicted Democrats would run 20 deep, or at least 15. Hume replied that they might, and said the real question is who those Republicans would be.
Hume also doubted the Democratic strategy of campaigning against a president on his way out, saying the party is not for anything and is simply against Trump. Kilmeade called the Democrats a party without a program and questioned whether a wealth tax and Medicare for All amount to serious platforms.
“I Don’t Think We’ve Ever Talked About It”
Trump has made no formal endorsement for 2028.
A reporter put the question directly to Trump on Tuesday, Oct. 20, with Vance standing behind him. “Well, I tell you this, he’s a very talented person, and he’s a very good person, but we’ve, literally, I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it,” Trump said that day. “It’s early, very early right now. We have to get through the midterms.”
Trump described Vance as his “most likely” heir apparent in August 2025. Rubio typically places second in hypothetical 2028 Republican primary matchups, and the two men are the early favorites on the Republican side.
Running His Own Race
Vance told journalist Mark Halperin on Monday, Oct. 19, that his mind is not made up on running, and that he believes Trump would back him. A Trump endorsement would carry more weight than any political endorsement in history, he said, though voters, not the president, decide.
In October, Vance said he had held no conversation with the president about 2028. It would not be unusual for Trump to withhold an immediate announcement of a favorite candidate, he said, and he predicted Trump’s backing was most likely.
“I think I would get his endorsement, but I also think there’s something to be said for people actually running their own race,” Vance said in an interview with 2WAY.
Asked at a CBS News town hall in Michigan on Sunday, Oct. 18, about the chance he sits the race out, Vance answered, “Of course there’s a chance.” He said he would give 2028 more serious thought after the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
