Vice President J.D. Vance did not explicitly declare his intentions to run for president in 2028 at Turning Point Action’s AmericaFest on Sunday, but he offered plenty of hints that he wants to continue the movement President Trump started.
One of those clues came as Mr. Vance spoke about how he pulled himself out of a depressive state following Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
He said he “struggled a great deal” as he stayed awake many nights in a row researching conspiracy theories and “going down every rabbit hole” looking for clues to understand why his friend was killed.
“What saved me was not lying to myself, but accepting the reality of the fight that we’re in,” Mr. Vance said, calling Kirk’s death a kick in the teeth.
“What saved me was realizing that the story of the Christian faith, like the story of these United States of America, is one of immense loss followed by even bigger victory,” the vice president said.
Mr. Vance was the closing speaker for the four-day conference that drew an estimated 30,000 conservative grassroots activists to the Phoenix Convention Center in Arizona.
SEE ALSO: Sen. Rand Paul does not want Vice President J.D. Vance to be the next president
Erika Kirk, who took over for her slain husband as CEO of TurningPoint USA, opened the conference by endorsing Mr. Vance for a 2028 run.
“We are going to get my husband’s friend, J.D. Vance, elected ’48’ in the most resounding way possible,” Mrs. Kirk said, referring to the number of the next president.
Mrs. Kirk previously has said her late husband wanted Mr. Vance to succeed Mr. Trump as president.
The vice president spoke about continuing Kirk’s legacy by infusing Christian values into Republican politics and policy.
“A true Christian politics, it cannot just be about the protection of the unborn or the promotion of the family, as important as those things absolutely are,” Mr. Vance said. “It must be at the heart of our full understanding of government.”
He provided examples, like promoting the dignity of work in immigration and on-shoring policies, helping older adults afford retirement, and keeping Medicaid affordable for the poor.
SEE ALSO: Turning Point’s AmericaFest surprises attendees with guest Nicki Minaj, phone call from Trump
Mr. Vance said he misses Kirk’s wisdom and heeds his reminder that “politics is not a dress rehearsal or a game.”
“We are making decisions that will save our country and give the American people a shot at their dreams again,” he said. “If you miss Charlie Kirk, do you promise to fight what he died for? … Commit to these things, and I promise you victory. I promise you closed borders and safe communities. I promise you good jobs and a dignified life.
“Only God can promise you salvation in heaven,” he added, “but together, we can fulfill the promise of the greatest nation in the history of the Earth.”
One prominent Republican though said Sunday that he’s not on board with efforts to anoint Mr. Vance as the party’s heir apparent.
Sen. Rand Paul, Kentucky Republican, said Mr. Vance does not reflect the “conservative free-market wing” that he wants to see lead the Republican Party.
“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,” the Kentucky Republican said on ABC’s “This Week.”
“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,” said Mr. Paul, who has been one of the few Republicans willing to oppose the Trump administration’s tariff policies and has partnered with Democrats on legislation to repeal them.
While Mr. Vance did not speak directly about his future ambitions in his Phoenix speech, he did talk about the Democrats who may run for president when Mr. Trump’s term is up.
“The Democrats are already talking about 2028, and it looks like they’re going to nominate a California liberal who’s presided over rolling blackouts, open borders and unchecked violent gangs,” he said. “They’re just trying to settle on whether it’s going to be [Gov.] Gavin Newsom or [former Vice President] Kamala Harris.”
In the meantime, the vice president said Democrats “are not sending their best” as candidates line up to run in the 2026 midterms.
“The candidate for Senate in Maine for the Democrats, calls me a Nazi, which is rich coming from a guy who literally has a Nazi tattoo on his chest,” Mr. Vance said of Graham Platner, who is vying for the Democratic nomination to run against GOP Sen. Susan M. Collins.
He also attacked Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for Senate in Texas, saying, “her ’street girl’ persona is about as real as her nails.”
In another apparent dig at the Democratic Party, Mr. Vance said everyone is invited to participate in the Make America Great Again movement and that Mr. Trump did not build that coalition through “endless self-defeating purity tests.”
“We don’t care if you’re White or Black, rich or poor, young or old, rural or urban, controversial or a little bit boring, or somewhere in between,” he said.
“People of every faith come to our banner because they know that the America First movement will make their lives better,” Mr. Vance added. “And they also know that the Democrats don’t care about anything other than maybe transing their kids.”
Mr. Vance discussed the Trump administration’s accomplishments, including ending the border crisis, cutting inflation and lowering drug prices.
“There is so much more to be done,” he said. “And the people saying we need to be doing more, we need to be doing it faster, trust me, I hear you.”
