Trump signals he may stay out of 2028 Republican succession race

US President Donald Trump said he might refrain from endorsing a candidate to succeed him in the 2028 presidential election, suggesting that staying out of the race could be the better option, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported.

Speaking to CBS’ 60 Minutes, Trump was asked whether he would endorse a potential successor.

“Probably. Not necessarily,” he responded, later adding, “Maybe I’m better off not getting involved.”

Asked who he would consider as a potential successor besides vice-president JD Vance, he praised secretary of state Marco Rubio, describing him as a strong candidate.

“Well, I think Marco’s great. I mean, he certainly loves it, and he’s doing great. He’s doing a fantastic job. The ones they think about, but there are many others, and I’d rather not mention their names. There’s some senators that are excellent. I know them all. I like them a lot,” he said.

Despite expressing uncertainty about whether he would endorse anyone, Trump maintained that his backing would carry considerable influence within the Republican Party.

“I think it would play a big role if I did, because my endorsement capacity has been very strong,” he said.

Following the Republican party’s significant losses in Tuesday’s midterm elections, Trump said he believes his Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement can continue even after he leaves office.

He expressed confidence that the movement would remain relevant beyond his presidency.

“I think so, because MAGA is basically common sense,” he said.

He further outlined what he considers the movement’s core principles, pointing to border security, military strength and economic growth.

“MAGA’s strong borders, good military … We have created wealth at a level that our country has never seen before,” he said.

Trump attributed the Republican party’s losses in the midterm elections partly to “bad messaging” while insisting that public support for his handling of the war with Iran remains “phenomenal”, despite several polls indicating otherwise.

He argued that widespread public dissatisfaction with his economic policies was not connected to the Iran war.

Instead, he pointed to communication problems as a possible reason for the Republicans’ poor performance.

“It was bad messaging, maybe by me, but I would talk about it all the time. So I don’t know, how much I can talk about it,” he said.

Asked to explain what he meant by “bad messaging”, the president argued that his administration had failed to effectively communicate its message to voters.

“We couldn’t get the word across,” he said, despite previously noting during the interview that he had held dozens of campaign rallies ahead of the midterm elections.

Trump also directed criticism at the media, accusing news outlets of failing to “cover positive news for Republicans.”

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