'I want to be president': Republican signals 2028 ambition as JD Vance faces competition

WASHINGTON, DC: Senator Ted Cruz has acknowledged that he wants to be president, strengthening the prospect that Vice President JD Vance will face competition for the 2028 Republican nomination.

Vance is widely believed to be the frontrunner to succeed President Donald Trump, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio is also being discussed.

Cruz made the admission on Texas Lt Gov Dan Patrick's podcast episode released on Thursday, August 27, after recently questioning whether Republicans had already settled on Vance.

Ted Cruz opens up about 2028 ambitions

“It’s no secret that I want to be president,” Cruz said on the podcast.

Asked whether he intends to run, Cruz, 55, stopped short of confirming a campaign, saying, “Time will tell.”

The Texas senator also described his presidential ambitions as a persistent pull.

“I will say, this is a bug that history has proved is rarely ended,” he said. “It is a permanent and often fatal bug.”

His comments came days after Cruz told MS NOW that he did not believe Vance was the inevitable Republican nominee for 2028 and remained vague about his own plans.

Asked Tuesday on MS NOW's ‘Way Too Early’ whether Republicans had already lined up behind Vance, Cruz responded, “Oh, no!”

“There’s going to be a full discussion about who we are and what we believe,” Cruz said.

Cruz also said he would support the most conservative candidate who could win, pointing to a candidate's record and principles. 

“I look at number one, what’s their record? Have they been a conservative? Have they been principled?” he said.

Senator Ted Cruz rejects a settled GOP nomination

Cruz's comments make clear that he does not view the 2028 Republican field as already settled around Vance.

When asked whether he would participate in those discussions, Cruz offered another noncommittal response: “There will be time to figure that out.”

Asked whether the eventual nominee would have to be MAGA, Cruz said the candidate needed a viable route to victory.

“They have to have a path to win. And so there is no Trump lane,” he said.

The comments place Cruz's own ambitions alongside his stated support for Trump. 

Cruz praised Trump as an “extraordinary president” and called him “fearless,” while adding, “I wish sometimes there was more message discipline and focus.”

Cruz previously sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016, when he finished second to Trump in the primaries and ahead of Rubio.

JD Vance keeps focus on vice presidency

Vance has repeatedly said that he is focused on his job as vice president.

His wife, Usha Vance, has offered a more open-ended description of their political future.

In an interview with Fox News' ‘Fox & Friends’ that aired Wednesday, she said she was keeping an “open mind and open heart” about what could come next.

“Whatever it is that he feels is the right thing for him to do, we’re going to have a good time doing it,” she said. “We will make the best of it in the best possible way.”

Trump has not publicly endorsed a successor for the 2028 Republican nomination.