Netizens Debate Whether JD Vance Would Make a Better President Than Trump

Vice President JD Vance is seen as a potential successor to President Donald Trump and a front-runner for the 2028 presidential nomination. In fact, he topped the 2026 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) straw poll for the 2028 presidential nominee this March, sweeping 53 percent of the votes cast by nearly 1,600 attendees, Al Jazeera reported.

Amid this, a crucial question has taken centre stage among GOP supporters and critics alike: Will JD Vance make a better president than Trump?

Many Republican supporters have indicated that they would support Vance in a presidential candidacy, positioning him as Trump’s heir in the MAGA movement. They believe that Vance would be able to create a much more organized and long-term political structure than Trump.

However, other political strategists and critics have expressed concern over his limited experience in foreign policy and his authority and appeal over party supporters and independent voters. 

Although Vance, who once called Trump “unfit” for office, backed the president’s decision to join Israel in the war against Iran, he had earlier expressed opposition to the U.S. being involved in foreign conflicts. 

Meanwhile, Trump’s approval ratings have fallen during his second term as the POTUS, especially amid the U.S. war against Iran and rising costs of living domestically. 

On Monday, May 11, Trump took a poll between Secretary of State Marco Rubio and VP Vance. He asked attendees at the White House dinner for law enforcement officials which of the two they would like to be President in 2028. After the voting, Trump reacted, saying, “It sounds like a good ticket…I do believe that’s a dream team…That does not mean you have my endorsement under any circumstances.”

In February, Trump declined to endorse VP Vance as his successor in the 2028 White House run. When Fox News host Bret Baier asked Trump whether he views the former Ohio Senator as his natural successor in the 2028 presidential election, the 79-year-old simply replied, “No, but he’s very capable.”

Later, Trump teased a third-term run, although U.S. law limits a president to two terms. 

Online, chatter about JD Vance’s hypothetical presidential run has generated significant buzz. Social media users, including those on Reddit, also debate whether Vance would be a better Commander-in-Chief than Trump. 

Take, for instance, a Reddit thread posted on the account “r/changemy view,” where netizens shared their opinions on a Trump versus a hypothetical Vance presidency. 

The original poster (OP) on the thread argued that JD Vance would make a better president than Donald Trump. According to them, Vance’s policies would not be “worse” than the current MAGA policies under Trump. 

“Vance is better educated than Trump. There is at least a chance that he might understand the difference between damage he intends to do and inadvertent damage that could lead to unintended consequences that nobody wants to happen,” the user wrote. 

They further claimed that Vance’s communication style is “generally less divisive than Trump’s,” saying that the latter is “impulsive, combative, and vindictive.” 

“Vance is young enough to be at least somewhat concerned with leaving a legacy as some kind of statesman rather than just a wrecker and force of chaos,” the post concluded. 

Soon, many users interacted with the post, agreeing and disagreeing with the argument. 

One user replied that although Vance is “less vindictive” than Trump, he “probably inflicts the same amount of harm.” Another user wrote, “Vance would be better in that he doesn’t have the unconditional maga base to allow him to get away with everything. But the GOP and Vance seem to want to carry out project 2025 and I think he is more directly part of that than Trump is.”

A few netizens believed otherwise. One person opined that Vance would be “worse than Trump.”

“Trump is better than Vance (I think Trump is the worst president in American history and should have been convicted for insurrection) because Trump is spontaneous and unpredictable, without much foresight. Usually, this just leads to bad policies that make him unpopular and easy,” the user wrote. 

“But it also means that he just spends a lot of time doing dumb things. Vance is not spontaneous or dumb. He would be far more calculating. He would spend less time doing dumb things and more time focusing on carrying out the specific policies he has,” they added. 

“The thing that makes Trump viable as a president is his die-hard supporters, his cult of personality, and the feedback loop of anti-trump social hysteria reinforcing the concept that he is powerful and to be feared,” yet another user commented. 

They further added, “JD Vance has none of these things. As such he would be highly ineffective at implementing any agenda, and would widely be criticized by both sides of the aisle.”

Yet another user simply said that Vance “scares me.” Someone else quipped, “A potato chip would make a better president than either or.”