Vice President JD Vance is setting himself up as President Donald Trump's successor in 2028 by taking an active role in diplomacy, and his performance so far has delighted Trump supporters.
Vance has made it clear that he is a force to be reckoned with ever since the Vice President's debate against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, which went so badly for Democrats that it ended Walz's short-lived time in national politics.
Vance's latest moment came during the meeting at the White House with President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
During that meeting, it was Vance who took the initiative to call out Zelensky for being disrespectful during talks about how much the U.S. has contributed to Ukraine's defense.
Zelensky implied that the U.S. hadn't done enough, and Vance immediately struck back, with Trump jumping in after. Vance sent Zelensky packing from the White House in shame and demonstrated to the American people that he has the guts to take on any international figure.
The meeting with Zelensky demonstrated that American Vice Presidents don't need to be seen and not heard at major diplomatic meetings.
Vance's calling out of Zelensky came as a shock for Americans who sat by watching Vice President Kamala Harris do nothing for years. Of course, ignoring the fact that anytime Harris opened her mouth, it was a word salad disaster.
Where Harris was a national embarrassment waiting to happen at any given moment, Vance has emerged as a capable right-hand man for Trump, who is flexing his might and smacking unruly allies around.
Vance didn't just bring Zelensky into line; he also singlehandedly went to Europe and called out European leaders for undermining liberty and pushing authoritarian rules.
At the Munich Security Conference last month, Vance spoke to a room of European leaders and blasted them for anti-free speech policies and other authoritarian laws. Vance correctly pointed out that our alliance with Europe is based on shared values, which are no longer shared.
Many European countries have become no better than totalitarian countries like Russia and China, and Vance made it clear that unless changes were made, these countries would not enjoy unrestricted friendship.
Vance's powerful showing on the international stage has made it abundantly clear that Trump hit it out of the park by selecting Vance as his running mate.
Vance has hit it out of the park, and people are already talking about Vance being the GOP nominee in 2028. President Trump is going to be term-limited in four years, but Vance is being set up as his successor, and some believe Vance could be even better than Trump.
While Trump has been coy about 2028, insiders have indicated that Trump is pleased with his Vice President and will happily push Vance heavily in four years.
In many ways, Vance possesses a certain clarity and refined nature that Trump lacks, which makes him even more immune to the attacks of the left. In four years, after Vance smacks every major world leader around, he will be more than ready to take over as #48.
