VANCE, RUBIO OFFER CLUES TO 2028 US RACE

A study of their divergent styles and interaction can likely determine who might take on the mantle next

- Bloomberg

US President Donald Trump's boycott of this weekend's Group of 20 summit in South Africa leaves the forum fumbling to divine his latest intentions on the global stage without a US representative for the first time since its inception.

Fortunately, world leaders can find insight in the foreign policy machinations of the US president's top two lieutenants: vice president JD Vance and secretary of state Marco Rubio. Although those around them insist that there's no mutual rivalry, it hasn't curbed their boss's impulse to fuel an Apprentice-style contest on the global stage.

Both the Republican stars, who have each chased White House dreams, have closely aided Trump as he sketches out the bones of a new foreign policy. Paying attention to their divergent styles and interaction offers clues to reading the emerging doctrine espoused by the US administration as well as a gauge of who might take on the mantle for the 2028 race.

Rubio, 54, a longtime anti-Communist hawk, has embraced Trump's aggressive approach while seeking ways to deal in private. Vance, 41, a relative newcomer to politics best known for a memoir about life in small-town Ohio and Kentucky, embodies the Make America Great Again movement's anti-elite sensibilities, plus Trump's penchant for disruptive and unpredictable dealmaking.

"This is a mythical fairytale Romulus and Remus, the sons of MAGA," said Matthew Bartlett, a State Department appointee during Trump's first term. "Vance, a biblical conversion, from a private critic to MAGA spokesman. Rubio, who ran against Trump, this establishment figure who now continues to be one of the most articulate spokesmen of his foreign policy." While the foundational legend of ancient Rome resulted in bloodshed, the pair have downplayed any sense of competition. Vance has named Rubio "my best friend in the administration." Rubio in July called Vance a 'close friend' and said he 'would be a great nominee.'