Donald Trump said in a podcast broadcast Wednesday that a joint candidacy of Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio would be "unbeatable" for the 2028 US presidential election, as a possible duel between the two men for the White House takes shape.

So far, neither JD Vance nor Marco Rubio has openly declared their interest in succeeding Donald Trump by running in the next presidential election.

But with two years to go before the primaries for the Republican presidential nomination, one question keeps coming up on the right: who will take up the torch?

The vice president and the US secretary of state are widely seen as serious contenders, and as rivals.

"They are both excellent. I like them both," Donald Trump said in a New York Post podcast broadcast Wednesday, without venturing to specify which of the two would be at the head of the ticket, i.e., presidential candidate.

"I don't know how we could beat them if they team up," he said, adding that the two men "get along very well."

However, a duel is beginning to take shape.

JD Vance, by virtue of his position, is more closely associated with the record of the incumbent president. However, Donald Trump's approval rating is declining, weighed down in particular by the war in Iran.

The vice-president has tried to distance himself from this conflict without breaking with the unpredictable president, a politically perilous exercise, and one that is not necessarily very clear to voters.

For his part, the Secretary of State, standing in for US Executive spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt on maternity leave, made a notable appearance in the press room in early May which drew praise from Republicans, who hailed a performance punctuated with wit.

Marco Rubio had, however, assured in December 2025 in an interview with Vanity Fair that he would not stand in the way of the vice-president should he run for president.

"If JD Vance runs for president, he will be our candidate and I will be one of the first to support him," he stated.