Trump Donors Reportedly Back Rubio Over Vance in Early 2028 Talk: 'It's 80-20 Marco'

President Donald Trump informally polled Republican donors at Mar-a-Lago about a potential 2028 successor late on February 28, and attendees overwhelmingly favored Secretary of State Marco Rubio over Vice President JD Vance, according to a new report.

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"

Trump has, however, increasingly praised Rubio in recent weeks as the administration's foreign policy agenda has taken center stage. During his State of the Union address Trump said Rubio had done "a great job" and predicted he "will go down as the best (Secretary of State) ever."

He repeated the claim at a White House ceremony Thursday for Major League Soccer champions Inter Miami CF, Trump twice called special attention to Rubio: "I'm telling you, he's going to go down as the best secretary of state in the country's history, Marco Rubio."

That rise in visibility has coincided with Rubio's central role in the administration's handling of Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. Vance, by contrast, has kept a lower public profile, though NBC reported he remained involved in internal deliberations over Iran and was the first administration official to defend the strikes on national television.

Public polling still shows Vance in a stronger position with Republican voters. An NBC News poll released last week found 77% of Republican voters viewed Vance positively, compared with 66% for Rubio.