Trump talks about J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio as the 2028 election battle approaches

I hate the fact that I’m writing about the year 2028. And you probably hate it even more.

But there is a rhythm to elections outside the year, and it goes as follows:

New Jersey (very blue) and Virginia (blue) are getting a tremendous amount of attention.

Trump looms large in key 2025 Election Day contests despite not being on the ballot

President Donald Trump is in the news every day, sometimes multiple times a day, but he has been MIA in terms of personal campaigning, having decided that something stinks and he doesn’t want the stench associated with it.

Let’s face it. Unless you lived across the Potomac River in Virginia, or near Norfolk or Newport News, did you have any idea who would run for governor? (It’s Abigail Spanberger.)

Here is the irony. They get all this coverage because everyone loves horse racing. But only two or three national reporters would return in six months to see how well they had done. Campaigning is exciting, governing is boring. I’m used to covering state and local officials, so I know what I’m talking about.

By the way, Virginia has a stupid rule of one semester and you’re out. If people think Republican Glenn Youngkin is doing a good job running the commonwealth, why shouldn’t they have the opportunity to vote for him again? meaningless.

Despite his absence from the track, Trump (who last-minute endorsed Andrew Cuomo) is the issue in every race — who can stand up to him, and whom can he blame for price hikes, government shutdowns, and the demolition of the East Wing.

Trump delivers a last-minute speech to Republicans on the eve of the 2025 election

It’s a perfect storm for Democrats, and the president has made no attempt to meet with them, having assumed that Chuck Schumer and his cronies would capitulate long before that. Instead, they came out with a message about rising premiums for Obamacare, which Trump has criticized but has not proposed his own health care plan in either term.

The next step is the midterm elections, where I assume the president will do his best. The GOP has shunned some of the crazier candidates of the past (like Christine O’Donnell, who said gay people were mentally ill, lied about her background, and later declared, “I dabbled in witchcraft.”)

Democrats have a chance to control the House, given the slim margin held by Republicans, and this would radically change Trump’s final two years. In the Senate, they have almost no chance.

Which brings us back to the year 2028. (I know, I know). Even if Trump still has everything under control, he is seen as a lame duck the day after the midterm elections. Of course, it will still dominate the news.

Recently, Trump has been talking about his strong seat, mentioning Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This undermines the assumption that the vice president will be his natural heir. They are said to be friends, but Rubio, who now holds about nine jobs, has much more government experience and foreign policy expertise, although he had to give up some of his previous positions to please his boss. I think Trump – I’ve been saying for months that he won’t run again – will pick the order of the ticket.

Two months after the midterm elections, the battle for the Democratic nomination begins. It could be California Governor Gavin Newsom, or former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel, or AOC, who is most attuned to a growing left-wing party, and a group of governors you’ve never heard of.

Election Day represents an early political test for Trump amid the ongoing shutdown

A lot depends on whether people are exhausted from the Trump chaos by then, let alone the state of the economy. Once again, Barack Obama gave a rousing speech at the convention, but who expected him to defeat the Clinton machine and win two terms?

The hot media spotlight will turn to the Democratic contest as they check the Vance/Rubio pecking order. Trump can make news by snapping his fingers — for example, after saying he would restore 50% of the SNAP food program once two judges ruled, he now says he won’t fund it at all, as a way to mount pressure. Most of the 42 million people on SNAP are “mostly Democrats,” he said, then quickly added that party doesn’t matter. It’s another pressure tactic,

In fact, of the 30 states Trump won last year, 25 rely on food stamps more than the national average.

Trump’s interview with Norah O’Donnell of CBS, now under new management, attracted 13.2 million viewers, the highest in days after the Capitol riot.

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Which brings us to 2028. That didn’t hurt so much, right?

Oh, was that?