Trump, Asked About a 2028 Bid, Praises Cruz, Calling Him ‘Talented’ and ‘a Friend’

President Trump is once again stirring the pot when asked about the 2028 Republican presidential primaries, saying he expects his “friend,” Senator Ted Cruz, to mount a second run for the White House. Mr. Trump heaped praise on the Texas senator when asked about him on Thursday, calling him “very talented.”Mr. Trump has done nothing thus far to choose a successor to lead the Republican Party, leaving Vice President JD Vance to wonder about how the president’s endorsement may play in the 2028 primaries. Secretary of state Marco Rubio has also been floated as a possible candidate, though he has shown no interest in running. Mr. Cruz has been especially vocal about the isolationist wing of his party. He has been in a long-simmering feud with commentator Tucker Carlson and other Israel critics. He has been making the rounds on television shows and podcasts in recent days to promote his new biography of Justice Clarence Thomas titled, “Going Further.” During those interviews, Mr. Cruz is making clear that he plans to play a role in the future of the Republican Party, possibly even as a presidential candidate. “It’s no secret that I want to be president,” Mr. Cruz said Wednesday during an appearance on Texas lieutenant governor Dan Patrick’s podcast, where he was promoting his book. During an interview with MS NOW earlier this week, Mr. Cruz said in no way has the GOP already rallied to Mr. Vance as the 2028 nominee. “There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe,” he said, declaring that there must be a debate about whether the GOP is a party that embraces free markets or a party that embraces the “nanny state.”“On foreign policy: are we an isolationist party that withdraws from the world, or do we believe in American leadership?” Mr. Cruz said.During a press event in the Oval Office on Thursday, Mr. Trump was asked about Mr. Cruz’s very clear angling for a potential White House run, which could kick off as earlier at the end of this year. The president made clear that he would welcome Mr. Cruz’s entrance into that contest. “He’s very talented. He’s a very good friend of mine. I think he might do that, yeah,” Mr. Trump said. “He’s a talented guy.”Mr. Trump has made clear for much of the last year that he wants to see a real contest in the 2028 primaries. He genuinely seems unsure of who he would like to see win, speculating publicly often about the idea of Mr. Rubio challenging Mr. Vance. In May, Mr. Trump actually took a poll of attendees at a Rose Garden event to see who was more popular: his vice president or his secretary of state. “Who likes JD Vance?” Mr. Trump asked, leading to cheers from the crowd. “Who likes Marco Rubio?” he asked again, which led to a comparable amount of applause. “Alright, sounds like a good ticket,” Mr. Trump said. “That does not mean you have my endorsement, under any circumstance.”According to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s book, “Regime Change” about Mr. Trump’s first 18 months back in office, Mr. Trump has been asking associates in private about the next Republican presidential nominee. Last year, Messrs. Trump, Vance, and Rubio all sat down with Rupert Murdoch, the billionaire press mogul who owns the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and Fox News. “What do you think of JD?” Mr. Trump reportedly asked Mr. Murdoch, to which the Australian-American billionaire said that the vice president merely had “the potential to be great.”“And what do you think of Marco?” Mr. Trump asked. “Marco is brilliant,” Mr. Murdoch responded.

Trump, Asked About a 2028 Bid, Praises Cruz, Calling Him ‘Talented’ and ‘a Friend’

Trump, Asked About a 2028 Bid, Praises Cruz, Calling Him ‘Talented’ and ‘a Friend’

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