Republican Donors Reportedly Seeking To Boost Rubio As Republican Candidate For 2028 Presidential Elections

A group of Republican donors are discussing ways to boost Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the party's strongest candidate ahead of the 2028 presidential elections, according to a new report.

ABC News detailed that efforts illustrate growing enthusiasm for Rubio's rising profile in the Trump administration. The president himself routinely praises him, often saying he will be remembered as the best secretary of state in U.S. history.

The White House avoided weighing in on the matter, with communications director Steven Cheung saying Trump has "assembled an all-star team that has achieved unprecedented success in just over one year" and "no amount of crazed media speculation about Vice President Vance and Secretary Rubio will deter this Administration's mission of fighting for the American people."

However, another report detailed that Trump informally polled Republican donors at Mar-a-Lago about a potential 2028 successor late on February 28, with attendees overwhelmingly supporting Rubio over Vice President JD Vance.

One person told NBC News the reaction was "almost unanimous for Marco," while another said donor sentiment was "80-20 Marco."

The gathering, held hours after the United States and Israel attacked Iran, included about 25 GOP donors, among them Robert Kraft and Georgia businessman Rick Jackson.

At one point, Trump asked whom he should support in 2028: Rubio or Vance. The response, according to attendees cited by NBC News, broke heavily for Rubio, though one former Trump administration official cautioned that "the Mar-a-Lago donor crew are not JD people" and said a broader survey of Republican voters would likely still favor Vance.

The exchange offered another sign that Trump intends to play an active role in shaping the 2028 Republican field. The president has repeatedly floated both Rubio and Vance as possible heirs to the MAGA movement, while stopping short of endorsing either one. In an interview with NBC News in early February Trump vouched for both.

"Well, I don't want to get into this. We have three years to go. I don't want to, you know, I have two people that are doing a great job. I don't want to have an argument with, or I don't want to use the word 'fight' — it wouldn't be a fight. But look, JD is fantastic, and Marco is fantastic," he said back then.

However, a senior Republican operative told ABC News that what donors think might not have much of an impact in the end. "Donors don't pick the nominee, the base picks," the operative said.

"Donors tried to abandon President Trump and tried to pick (Florida Gov. Ron) DeSantis, and we all saw how that went," the operative concluded.