JD Vance Says It’s ‘Really Obvious’ That ‘Ted Cruz Is Running for President’

AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana

Vice President JD Vance declared it “really obvious” that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is already planning a White House bid while insisting he has yet to make a decision about 2028.

In an interview with NBC News published Thursday, Vance was asked about Cruz’s increasingly public positioning ahead of the next presidential election.

Cruz recently told MS NOW that Vance has not locked down the Republican nomination and said he wants to “certainly be part of the discussion.” The Texas senator has also cast the GOP’s future as a choice between a “small-government, free-market conservative party” and a “big-government, nanny state party.”

Vance brushed off the apparent challenge while distinguishing Cruz’s political ambitions and his own.

“It is really obvious to me that, at this very moment, Ted Cruz is running for president,” Vance said. “At this moment, I’m not. I’m trying to help elect Republicans. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing.”

Cruz, who does not face re-election this year, has been hitting the campaign trail for Republican candidates around the country, including stops in Iowa and South Carolina — two states with prominent roles in the presidential nominating process. He is also expected to campaign this month for Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Republican Senate candidates Ken Paxton in Texas and Michael Whatley in North Carolina, NBC News noted.

“Senator Cruz has been focused on electing Republicans up and down the ballot this November, and he will continue campaigning vigorously over the next several weeks to help make that happen,” a Cruz spokesperson told NBC News.

Vance, meanwhile, acknowledged that the outcome of the midterm elections could become one piece of information he weighs when deciding whether to seek the presidency.

“You make these decisions by collecting as much information and trying to make a wise decision,” Vance said. “And yeah, I mean, regardless of what happens over the next 35 days, there will be new information, new things you have to make a decision over.”

Pressed on whether major Republican losses could discourage him from running, Vance declined to get ahead of the election.

“Right now, I try not to think too much in hypotheticals,” he said. “I’m just going to try to do as well as I can and encourage people to elect the candidates that I think are good. The American people make that decision, and when they do, then yeah, I’ll have some new information to consider.”

“Historically there’s always a bit of an uphill climb, and I think you definitely sense that,” Vance conceded, before adding that Republicans also have reason for “cautious optimism.”

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