Former CNN political analyst Chris Cillizza speculated on Monday about the possibility of Donald Trump Jr. running for president in 2028, suggesting that he could inherit his father’s “political movement.” Cillizza pointed out that President-elect Donald Trump chose Vice President-elect JD Vance as his running mate after Trump Jr. strongly advocated for the selection. On his YouTube channel, Cillizza suggested that Trump’s loyalty to his family might ultimately lead to Trump Jr. taking charge of the MAGA movement rather than Vance.
“I think the guy has real charisma. I know a lot of people hate him, but he has real charisma and an understanding of what motivates the base that has elected his father. He is also, interestingly, kind of a — unlike his dad, who is a total technophobe — I mean, Donald Trump, you know, uses a phone, I guess, but not really a computer,” Cillizza said. “Don Jr. is actually very savvy when it comes to the changing media landscape and the way social media has transformed everything.”
“So I just looked these numbers up. He has 13 million followers on X. He has eight million followers on Instagram. His Triggered podcast, which runs on this site called Rumble, which is the conservative alternative to YouTube, is widely listened to and followed,” Cillizza said. “And his sensibility on social media is — if I had to make a comparison — it’s kind of like Elon Musk’s. He’s kind of a troll. Don Jr. likes to troll liberals. That’s what he does really, really well. And you know who loves that? The MAGA base.”
While acknowledging Vance’s role as vice president-elect, Cillizza questioned whether the usual line of succession would apply in this case. “We’re talking about the Trumps here, right? So I don’t know that we can draw that conclusion yet. I have heard —I have seen reported — I’ve heard anecdotally that Don Jr. is interested in running for office. Don Jr. likes campaigning,” the former CNN contributor said. “He likes getting out there. He likes mixing it up. We also know that if Donald Trump the elder is loyal to anyone — and that’s questionable — but if he’s loyal to anyone, it’s his family, right?”
“I think if Donald Sr. is interested in sort of handing off the political movement he built, with the likeliest chance of that movement being transferable to someone, he’s likely to turn, I think, to his eldest son, who has kind of shown a knack for this stuff, whose star is rising, absolutely,” Cillizza said. “From J.D. Vance onward to the transition, Don Jr.’s influence is greater today than it has been, I think, at any point in the past in his father’s political career.”
Cillizza mentioned that Vance is likely aware of Trump Jr.’s influence and his potential presidential ambitions. He also suggested that Trump Jr. might sign on as Vance’s running mate. “Look, I just think there will be an attempt at some point to hand off Trumpism, and Donald Trump will want to be in control of that handoff,” Cillizza said. “And the fact that his eldest son is standing right there, is someone who has shown that he gets the MAGA base in a way very few Republicans do, who has shown that he, in his own right, is extremely popular online, who gets the kind of social media trolling that goes hand in hand with being a Trump supporter, that he is related by blood to Donald Trump — these are all things that I think you cannot rule out Don Jr. of running in 2028.”
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