Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio landed in Milan on Thursday to lead the U.S. delegation for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. Their trip comes as GOP pundits — and President Donald Trump himself — have boosted the pair as a possible 2028 presidential ticket.
Presidents, vice presidents, or first ladies have often represented the United States in past Olympics, but the two top Trump administration leaders together are one of the highest-ranking delegations the nation has sent to the global games.
Vance spoke to a group of athletes representing the U.S. at the games on Thursday night, striking a message about national unity as he shared the fact that second lady Usha Vance, who he said does not typically like sports, loves the Olympics.
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“This is one of the few things that unites the entire country. And if you can get a person who’s not a big fan of sports to obsessively watch the Olympics, you know that it’s a very special thing,” Vance said. “You can tell by the ratings from the Olympics, you can tell by the fact that it really brings the country together — everybody is rooting for you guys.”
The vice president later joked with an Ohioan athlete, saying, “You became an Olympian, and I became a politician; worked out much better for you.”
Vance added that he hoped all athletes soaked in the experience.
“I hope you win as many medals as possible, but most of all, I just hope you enjoy the experience,” Vance said. “The whole country — Democrat, Republican, independent — we’re all rooting for you.”
The vice president also met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his visit.
Rubio did not make any publicly broadcast remarks with Vance before the Olympians, but he did meet the athletes and pose for a photo with them, his wife Jeanette Rubio, the Vances, and the Ambassador to Italy Tilman Fertitta.
Vance and Rubio have been seen as two frontrunners to make up the GOP 2028 presidential ticket throughout the past year, surging into the conversation when Trump touted the two as a pair that would be “unstoppable.” The two have maintained a close friendship throughout the first year of the Trump administration, calling each other their best friends in the Cabinet, and are standing together as a duo in charge of the U.S. Olympic delegation on a global scale.
Vance, who has already secured an endorsement from Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk without having announced a run yet, has largely been seen by vocal politicos as an heir to Trump, but there is an open question over who could take what spot on the ticket. Rubio has run for President before, in 2016.
Presidential elections scholar David Karol, Department of Government and Politics professor at the University of Maryland, told the Washington Examiner that for Trump and the Trump administration’s sake, it is advantageous to leave the question of an exact successor open at this point to keep the focus on the current president, the current administration, and its policies.
“Leaving it open at this stage is useful, because as soon as he says, ‘I’m going to be supporting so-and-so, our party should rally around him,’ he might fear that’d make him more of a lame duck, people would start to turn their attention to a possible successor. That will happen at some point, but not yet,” Karol said.
Karol said the Olympic exposure for Vance and Rubio could be advantageous for the two in the future as it is “a way to reach out to people who may vote, but aren’t following the news super closely.”
“Athletic events, like the Olympics, attract a lot of attention, and they attract the kind of people who you don’t necessarily get by going on Face The Nation or some podcasts,” Karol said.
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Neither Vance nor Rubio has announced any sort of intention to run in 2028, but their names lead the pack in speculation along with former Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA).
On the Democratic side, many names have been the subject of speculation for the ticket, including Govs. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), Josh Shapiro (D-PA), Wes Moore (D-MD), JB Pritzker (D-IL), and Andy Beshear (D-KY). On the non-governor side, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Vice President Kamala Harris have also fielded speculation.
