Vance talks 2028, Ted Cruz and a tough mid-term climate that could influence his future

JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. — Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Thursday that Republicans face an “uphill climb” in next month’s midterm elections — and that the results could be a data point he examines as he decides whether to run for president in 2028.

“Historically, there’s always a bit of an uphill climb, and I think you certainly feel that,” Vance said in an interview with NBC News. “I also think there can be a sense of cautious optimism, in the sense that, you know, people feel like the numbers are moving, maybe in our direction.”

He added: “Politically, there’s just a recognition that it’s always going to be difficult to win a midterm when you have the White House, the Senate and the House. »

Vance spoke aboard Air Force Two shortly after landing on a return trip from Lakeland, Fla., where he campaigned for Sen. Ashley Moody and Rep. Byron Donalds, the Republican candidate for governor. It was his final headlining concert at a rally intended to shore up support for the party’s candidates in what is expected to be a difficult year for the GOP.

In addition to the historical trends Vance mentioned, polls have shown that President Donald Trump and the war in Iran are very unpopular among voters. The related rise in gas prices added to a cascade of affordability problems. And Americans are increasingly skeptical of artificial intelligence and the large, energy-intensive data centers built to accommodate the technology. All of these issues could influence voters’ choices in this fall’s key races for House, Senate and governor.

Vance, 42, has always said he is focused on his job as vice president and helping his party in the midterms — and that any decisions about whether he will succeed Trump in 2028 would not come until after that date.

Asked Thursday whether a poor showing by Republicans on Nov. 3 would factor into his thinking, Vance said: “You make these decisions by gathering as much information and trying to make a wise decision. And yeah, I mean, no matter what happens over the next 35 days, there’s going to be new information, new things that you have to make a decision on.”

Could the GOP’s substantial losses convince him that the climate might not be favorable for him to run for president? Vance didn’t commit.

“Right now, I’m trying not to think too much about what-ifs,” he said. “I’m just going to try to do my best and encourage people to elect the candidates that I think are good. The American people make that decision, and when they do, then yes, I will have new information to consider.”

Vance was more eager to evaluate a potential rival: Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. Cruz said in a recent interview with MS NOW that Vance doesn’t have a lock on the 2028 nomination and said he “definitely wants to be part of the discussion.” He also presented the party’s future as a choice between being a “small-government, free-market conservative party” or a “big-government nanny state party.”

Vance said Cruz’s efforts to provoke a confrontation didn’t bother him.

“It’s really obvious to me that right now, Ted Cruz is running for president,” Vance added. “Right now, that’s not the case. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Cruz, who is not up for reelection to the Senate this year, has been fundraising and campaigning for midterm candidates — not only in Texas but also in states like Iowa and South Carolina. Both are traditionally placed early on the presidential caucus and the GOP primary calendar.

Cruz is also expected to campaign this month for Sen. Dan Sullivan in Alaska, as well as Republican Senate candidates Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina.

“Senator Cruz has been focused on electing Republicans in the November election, and he will continue to campaign vigorously in the coming weeks to help make that happen,” a spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News.

In the interview, Vance addressed several of the issues that have become central during the midterm elections. He acknowledged his frustration with high gas prices and said it was a topic he and Donalds discussed behind the scenes at Thursday’s rally in Florida.

Vance also reiterated a message he has delivered at the Capitol and across the country. Republicans, he said, can’t pretend things are perfect, but they can point to their successes while blaming the previous Democratic administration for leaving them in a mess and arguing that the next wave of Democrats would be worse.

“I think people recognize that the message is starting to sink in a little bit, that we’re solving problems that Democrats created and that Democrats are running a lot of crazy people,” Vance said. “I feel like the message is penetrating. Obviously, we’ll know in about 35 days if this prevails.”

Asked whether the blame aimed at the Trump administration — which has now been in office for more than a year and a half — is justified, Vance acknowledged that such frustrations can exist.

“The voters are impatient, aren’t they? They’re the ones who end up making the decision,” he said. “We have to make our case as best we can. And what I think honestly is that we’ve inherited a remarkably difficult situation. … But I think our approach is to brag about the victories, to talk about the great accomplishments.”

Vance also grappled with two of the hottest issues this campaign season: data centers and AI.

When it comes to data centers, Vance has taken a middle ground.

“I certainly think there are some local apprehensions,” he said. “I think in some cases the companies that are building the data centers have done a good job of making sure that the community shares in the profits and making sure that the prices don’t go up – the electricity and electricity prices don’t go up. And then in some communities, obviously, you don’t see that happening, and instead you see a pushback.”

His position is more nuanced and different from that of Trump. In an August article on Truth Social, the president compared data centers to a “goose that lays golden eggs” and accused opponents of their construction of “wanting to end up backward and poor.”

On AI, Vance has been both enthusiastic and cautious, having recently raised concerns about cybersecurity and its use in war. In the interview, the vice president highlighted recent concern about the speed with which technology is advancing and the fear that it could bring about the end of human existence, drawing comparisons to the early days of the Covid pandemic.

“I actually felt a bit like with Covid, where there seemed to be significant panic. The risk is real, just like it was with Covid, but the remedy wasn’t necessarily appropriate or tailored to the risk,” Vance said. “And particularly, when I see people who have literally developed successful models for hacking other people’s software come and say, ‘Oh, my God, we released Frankenstein into the wild; the government should help us’ – well, one of the ways the government should help us is to make sure that the people who release Frankenstein into the wild face the consequences.”

He added a moment later: “My fear about AI right now is that we respond not by imposing more responsibility on the companies that create the products, but by creating a regulatory regime that actually protects them from liability and, in doing so, doesn’t manage the real risk. »