At a private dinner with two dozen donors, President Trump surveyed the room and asked which candidate they would choose to follow him in leading the MAGA movement. The vote was almost unanimously in favor of Marco Rubio over J.D. Vance. As the two men vie to be next-in-line to the throne, Trump seems to be enjoying the spectacle.

If Rubio was indeed preferred in this (albeit skewed) environment, it is not much of a surprise to Cockburn. Vance has appealed strongly to an online contingency which is… overrepresented online. Remember when Rubio fell on his sword because he wanted to keep Trump out of office? Of course not; that was over two seasons ago.

Pete Hegseth, meanwhile, comes across as a late-stage auditionée who doesn’t have the respect of the crowd. His entire dramatic purpose is to make the other two look better in comparison. At the end of the day it’s not a competition between the Old Republican party and the New, but between the most savvy conservatives Ohio and Florida have to offer. Make of that what you will. Trump has proven himself to be more motivated by hometown pride than expected– he likes Zohran Mamdani because he is a........

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