President Donald Trump shot down speculation that he would run as a vice presidential candidate in 2028, telling reporters aboard Air Force One that Republicans already have ‘great’ prospective candidates.
Trump made the statement during a gaggle with reporters on Sunday, brushing off questions about whether he would fully pursue such an option. Trump pointed to Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as two potential successors, while denigrating potential Democratic candidates as ‘low IQ.’
‘We have great people. I don’t have to get into that, but we have one of them standing right here. We have JD, obviously. The Vice President is great. Marco is great, I think. I’m not sure if anybody would run against those. I think if they ever formed a group, it would be unstoppable,’ Trump said.
‘They have Jasmine Crockett, a low IQ person. They have AOC’s low IQ. If you give her an IQ test, have her pass, like, the exams that I decided to take when I was at Walter Reed. I took those very hard, they’re really aptitude tests, I guess, in a certain way, but they’re cognitive tests. Let AOC go against Trump. Let Jasmine go against him,’ he continued.
‘The first couple of questions are easy. A tiger, an elephant, a giraffe, you know. When you get up to about five or six, and then when you get up to 10 and 20 and 25, they couldn’t come close to answering any of those questions,’ he asserted.
Asked about whether he would run as vice president in 2028, Trump noted that he would be ‘allowed to do that,’ but he called the plan ‘too cute.’
‘Is it the White House, or the White House counsel’s, or your legal position, I guess, that you could do that?’ a reporter pressed.
‘You’d be allowed to do that, but I wouldn’t do that. I think it’s too cute,’ Trump responded.
Trump’s comments come as he flies across Asia meeting with world leaders in a five-day tour this week. The president landed in Japan early Tuesday morning, and he is expected to meet with newly-elected Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo. Takaichi is Japan’s first female prime minister.
Trump also confirmed on Sunday that he would be open to meeting with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un during his visit to South Korea.