President Trump sparked what is likely to be a brutal battle for the 2028 Republican nomination during his May 4 interview on “Meet the Press.” After extinguishing his ongoing “third-term” tease, Trump name-checked the two leading candidates to succeed him: Vice President JD Vance (as expected) and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (very unexpected).

This week, questions about Rubio’s own birthright citizenship (neither of his parents was a citizen when he was born in Florida) generated headlines, so watch this developing issue.

Rubio, formerly a third-term U.S. senator from Florida, had been a critical rival of candidate Trump in the 2016 presidential primary. Rubio, whom Trump degradingly taunted as “Little Marco,” has suddenly morphed into powerful “Big Marco,” concurrently serving in four separate leadership positions: secretary of State, interim National Security Advisor, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development and acting archivist for the National Archives and Records Administration.

Trump’s recent unleashing of a Vance vs. Rubio rivalry will effectively sustain media interest over the next three years. Once again, the president proves he is a master manipulator of the 24/7 news cycle.

Now, during any Trump-news lull, he can tease a Vance vs. Rubio “Truth Social” post about the state of their rivalry. He can also inject........

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