Trump forced JD Vance to listen to Rupert Murdoch deliver his chilly 2028 verdict to his face

By CHASE HOPE, POLITICAL REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL Published: 16:18, 17 June 2026 | Updated: 16:28, 17 June 2026 President Trump made sure his Vice President JD Vance heard news mogul Rupert Murdoch's verdict on Vance's 2028 prospects, according to Axios. During a dinner for billionaires last October, Murdoch heard one of Trump's favorite questions: did Murdoch prefer Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio? Talking to Murdoch with Vance and Rubio both present, Trump called both of his lieutenants 'great.' Then he asked Murdoch for his opinion on each man. 'Well... I think JD has the potential to be great,' Murdoch answered. But when Trump asked about Rubio, Murdoch's answer was decisive:  Rupert Murdoch attended President Trump's inauguration last January Trump is fond of asking those around him whether they prefer Vance (L) or Rubio (R) as a 2028 presidential candidate The conversation is detailed in Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan's upcoming book, 'Regime Change,' which promises an inside look at the early stages of Trump's second term. Some revelations in already released preview passages of the book have made key figures in the Trump administration uncomfortable.  Vance told conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly on Tuesday that he suspected someone provided Haberman and Swan with sensitive recordings. Referring to a story about the White House's efforts to manage the Epstein files release, Vance said, 'There were certain things in there that legitimately made me worried that people were taping.'  'Yeah, in the Situation Room,' Kelly agreed. 'Which, by the way, is a felony,' Vance added. It is unclear whether such a recording would be technically illegal, but recording devices are prohibited in the Situation Room, and such a leak of confidential conversations would be stunning. "We're afraid some of our most sensitive conversations were being recorded," an administration source told Axios recently. "And we have no idea which ones."  Trump and Vance attended the National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery together last month Trump and Rubio both attended the G7 conference in France this week Trump had previously sued the Wall Street Journal, one of Murdoch's media companies, after the outlet published a story alleging Trump had written a lewd birthday card to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Evidently any hostilities between Murdoch and the President had cooled by this October dinner.  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.