Donald Trump mocked ‘little boy’ JD Vance last night as he recalled Secret Service agents yanking the Vice President out of his chair and hoisting him to safety during the recent assassination attempt.
The President did not spare Vance’s blushes as he spoke in the White House Rose Garden, even polling guests on whether they preferred Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his 2028 successor.
Trump, addressing the Secret Service, said: ‘I thought you did a great job two weeks ago. You know why? Because I’m here.’
‘But I will be the one to find fault if I think there was fault,’ he added. ‘They had great professional people, and they came out, and within seconds, I saw them take JD by the shoulders and lift him up like he was a little boy.’
Footage of the 41-year-old being hoisted from his seat by the shoulders by a Secret Service agent, while Trump remained seated, went viral online shortly after the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC.
Trump continued, ‘I said, “How come they didn’t lift me up so fast?” JD got ripped out of the chair, that was the view of the week.’
The President later floated his support for Rubio, Vance’s potential 2028 rival, asking guests: ‘Who likes JD Vance?’ and ‘Who likes Marco Rubio?’
Trump cast doubt on Vance’s candidacy: ‘Is it gonna be JD? Is it gonna be someone else? I don’t know.’
JD Vance went viral after he was hoisted from his seat by the shoulders by a Secret Service agent, while Donald Trump remained seated, after the DC assassination attempt last month
The President branded Vance a ‘little boy,’ while openly floating Marco Rubio as his successor in 2028, while speaking in the White House Rose Garden on Monday
The President then pressed the crowd with questions, including, ‘Who likes JD Vance?’ and ‘Who likes Marco Rubio?’
After both officials received applause from the crowd, Trump replied, ‘Sounds like a good ticket.’
Trump has long floated both Vance and Rubio as his preferred successors when he departs the White House in 2028, though he has yet to say which he would want at the top of the ticket and which as the running mate.
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‘By the way, I do believe that’s a dream team, but these are minor details,’ Trump added during his speech.
‘That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstance. But you know… I think it sounds like presidential candidate and vice presidential candidate.’
Trump is also known to poll guests and allies sporadically about who they want to succeed him, using the responses to gauge where the GOP’s loyalties lie.
Vance and Rubio previously served together in the US Senate, and both opposed Trump’s early bid for the presidency in 2016.
Now, the pair are seen as among the most effective members of Trump’s administration entrusted with his most sensitive assignments, including leading diplomatic talks to end the war with Iran.
Despite speculation over their presidential ambitions, Vance and Rubio have publicly downplayed any interest in running the Oval Office.
Rubio did tell reporters last year that he would back Vance if he ran, stating, ‘If JD Vance runs for president, he’s going to be our nominee, and I’ll be one of the first people to support him.’
Prediction markets have Vance and Rubio running nearly neck and neck for the next GOP nomination, with Kalshi giving the Vice President a 35 percent chance and the Secretary of State a 31 percent chance.
