Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that he plans to run for president in 2028.
When asked by moderator Kristen Welker if he would consider running for president, Kennedy replied, “Yeah.”
“My plans right now are to run for office, but as I said before, if I no longer think I can be effective in the Senate, I would think about it,” he said.
Many politicians on both sides have acknowledged they are considering running for president in 2028 or refused to rule out the possibility. However, none have yet officially announced their candidacy. Kennedy also said he had not made a decision.
“On my side of the aisle, if a bunch of goobers were running, and I think they are goobers and one of the goobers could win, and I think I could do a better job, I would consider running,” he said. “But right now, I’m running for office.”
Kennedy is up for re-election in 2028.
Vice President JD Vance is widely considered a likely 2028 presidential candidate. Kennedy, however, declined to discuss Vance when asked why voters should choose the senator over the vice president.
“I’m not going to talk about another potential candidate,” he said. “I’m just not there yet.”
He added that he thought “it would be good for both sides to have a full field.”
President Donald Trump had previously proposed both Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as potential successors. In September, Rubio said he had “no plans at this time” to run for president.
NBC News previously reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had raised the possibility of running for president in 2028, which a Pentagon spokesperson denied. Separately, Vance told NBC News last week that it was “really obvious to me” that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was running for president in 2028.
The 2028 presidential election will be the first time since 2012 that Trump is not the Republican nominee.
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