Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) declared that he will not support Vice President JD Vance for a 2028 presidential run.
Speaking to Jon Karl of ABC’s “This Week,” Paul said, “I think there needs to be representatives in the Republican Party who still believe international trade is good, who still believe in free market capitalism, who still believe in low taxes. See, it used to separate conservatives and liberals that conservatives thought it was a spending problem, we didn’t want less revenue, we wanted less spending.”
“But now all these pro-tariff protectionists, they love taxes. And so they tax, tax, tax, and then they brag about all the revenue coming in. That has never been a conservative position,” he added. “So I’m going to continue to try to lead a conservative free market wing in the party, and we’ll see where things lead over time.”
Paul later reiterated that Vance is not the candidate to lead conservatives.
The senator’s comments come as Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk declared during the organization’s AmericaFest conference that she will work to get Vice President JD Vance elected in 2028.
“We are locked in and mission-focused for both 2026 and 2028,” she told the audience, describing that the organization aims to invest “in states and not just in races. So what I mean by that is we are building the red wall — Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire. That’s going to be very important to us.” Kirk added, “We are going to get my husband’s friend JD Vance elected for 48 in the most resounding way possible.”
