As if the country didn’t already know, the 2028 presidential race in the GOP (and with Democrats!) to succeed President Donald Trump is already on.
Yes, there are still a few months to go before voters head to the polls for the 2026 midterm cycle.
But, hey? The Big Enchilada is 2028. Big Media is on that trail. And they won’t let you forget it, either.
As but one piece of evidence, here’s this recent headline from The Washington Post:
Sizing up the 2028 Republican presidential contenders
Can anyone win by distancing themselves from President Donald Trump?
And there you have it. The Big Media Big Questions that they will be asking from now until election day in November 2028 are:
- Who is replacing Trump?
- Who is disassociating themselves from Trump?
- Who is campaigning to be the next Trump? After all, for the Big Media, 2028 is all about Trump. They ignored him the first time he ran in 2016 and they won’t make that mistake again.
In fact, a look back at 2016 and, if you’re looking for amusement, the media had headlines like this one from The Nation:
Relax, Donald Trump Can’t Win
Even before you get to his campaign’s incompetence and lackluster fundraising, the numbers just aren’t on his side.
From Politico:
GOP insiders: Trump can't win
From The Atlantic:
Why Trump Won’t Win
His threats to democracy make him dangerous. They also make him a weak candidate.
And on and on -- and on and on -- went similar Big Media headlines assuring readers a Trump candidacy was ridiculous. Even more to the point? Looking forward, who in the GOP, as The Post story illustrates, will run in 2028 and “distance” themselves from the President?
Anyone? Anyone?
So, on goes the inevitable game leading up to the presidential election in which someone else - Yes! Gasp! Someone Else! - will be chosen to replace America’s favorite 45th and 47th President.
Over at The Hill there was this:
Why Marco Rubio probably won’t ever be president
The article reaches back into history, saying this of Rubio and the office he currently holds -- Secretary of State. Writes the reporter:
Moving from the Senate to the Secretary of State’s office seems like a step up for Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and perhaps a way to position himself for a presidential run in 2028. Rubio may have good reasons for moving into the Cabinet, but improving his prospects in four years is not one of them. Indeed, the Cabinet has long been a graveyard for presidential contenders.
This sounds surprising, as some of the most notable names in American history — Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and Martin Van Buren — led the State Department. But that was all during the early days of the republic. The last president to have previously held that position was James Buchanan, right before the Civil War.
…Rubio, at only 53 years old and with a significant presidential run in his past, seems to have accepted the secretary of state position with a look to the future. But the track record suggests that there is a good chance that heading a Cabinet department is actually an end to a political career.
Let's guess they didn't write that about Secretary of State Hillary Clinton before she ran against Trump, and she was 68, not 53. If one one broadens the field to include both Republicans and Democrats, one got this from Politico at the end of 2025, with a mere three years left to go in the 2028 presidential sweepstakes. The headline:
The 2028 Race Has Begun. Here’s Who’s Winning.
White House hopefuls in both parties are maneuvering for the post-Trump era. Here’s where they stand at the end of 2025.
So the essence here from Big Media? There will be endless stories coming - say again, endless stories - in which the media is speculating on the latest twitch from this, that or another office holder that allegedly shows that public office holder X is leading or failing in the 2028 race for president.
The headlines - like the ones from Politico and The Hill, above - will keep on coming. Until the primary elections begin, it will be lighter than air.
