The vice president has been a loyal member of the GOP and the Trump admin. But things may be changing.
And this JD Vance replacement news has the White House in an absolute frenzy.
In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, pro-Trump writer Batya Ungar-Sargon expressed doubts about Vice President JD Vance seamlessly stepping into President Donald Trump’s shoes as the leader of the MAGA movement. She highlighted a potential divide between the two on key issues that could complicate Vance’s path forward.
“I don’t think it’s JD. I know everybody else does. I’m just not sure,” Ungar-Sargon said. She admitted to steering clear of firm predictions, joking, “I don’t like to make predictions because I’m always wrong.”
Yet, she added, “And I’m for sure wrong about this because everybody else thinks that he’s going to be a shoo-in. But I really think that there are certain issues where it’s very clear that he and President Trump are not on the same page. And I just wonder if those gaps are going to become, you know, smaller or wider.”
Ungar-Sargon pointed to Trump’s own words as fuel for her skepticism. During a Super Bowl interview last month with Fox News’ Bret Baier, Trump was asked if he saw Vance as his successor in 2028:
“No, but he’s very capable,” Trump replied. “I think you have a lot of capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early. We’re just starting.”
Bret Baier: “Do you view JD Vance as your successor, the 2028 nominee for president?”
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) February 10, 2025
President Trump: “No, but he’s very capable, and there are a lot of capable people. So far, he’s doing a great job. It’s just too early.”
pic.twitter.com/Yopy7vD5oB
Reflecting on this, Ungar-Sargon noted, “I think the fact that President Trump has been unwilling to say, ‘Yes, he is my heir apparent’ despite choosing him as VP when he was asked point blank, he said no… but I guess we’ll see.”
Still, she didn’t dismiss Vance entirely. At 40 years old, he’s part of what she called the GOP’s “deep bench” of promising young talent.
“I think JD is totally brilliant and I think he has a very bright future ahead of him. I’m just not sure if he is the inheritor of this movement,” she said.
When pressed on where Vance and Trump might differ, Ungar-Sargon zeroed in on abortion as the standout issue. She recalled seeing Vance speak passionately about “the unborn,” a stance that resonates with a vocal segment of the conservative base.
“I know that there’s a huge segment of the right who really identifies with that issue. And I, of course, admire and respect that,” she said.
“I just think that that’s not enough to win. And I think that there’s a lot of Americans kind of much more in the middle on this issue who really appreciate President Trump’s approach.”
Ungar-Sargon, a columnist for The Free Press, praised Trump for effectively defusing abortion as a political lightning rod in the 2024 election. She cited a recent poll showing it didn’t rank among Americans’ top concerns.
“And people will say, ‘Oh, that’s because it’s not an important issue to Americans.’ And I would say to them, no. It’s because President Trump neutralized it, because he told Americans, ‘I feel about it the way that you do,’” she explained. “That’s a real danger zone for the GOP going forward.”
Vance, for his part, enjoys robust support among the party faithful. Ungar-Sargon pointed out his landslide victory in the straw poll at last month’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), where he nabbed 61% of the vote.
Even so, she mused that an unexpected contender could rise from Trump’s cabinet, naming Secretary of State Marco Rubio—a one-time 2016 rival of Trump—and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard as possible “dark horse” candidates.
For now, the question of who will carry the MAGA torch remains open, with Ungar-Sargon suggesting the road ahead may hinge on how Vance navigates his differences with the man who put him in the vice president’s office.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
