‘Leader in the clubhouse’: Byron Donalds says JD Vance would be ‘tough’ to beat in 2028

Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds said during a Thursday podcast that Vice President JD Vance would be a formidable opponent for any other Republican contender in the 2028 presidential election.

Vance’s role as the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) finance chair bolsters his standing as the apparent frontrunner to represent his party in 2028, GOP strategists and pundits told the Daily Caller News Foundation in March. When “FULL SEND PODCAST” host Kyle Forgeard asked Donalds who he believes will secure the GOP nomination in 2028, the congressman said Vance is currently leading the pack and praised his resilience and his “success story.”

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“What I will say is JD’s the leader in the clubhouse,” Donalds said. “I guess I would say we’re kind of in the first round right now at the Masters. He’s got the lead.”

Forgeard chimed in to call Vance “a beast” who is skilled when it comes to “going at the media.”

“JD is good. Really good. Really good. Incredibly smart. You know, he’s been through it in life. I think that’s what makes him … very relatable, ’cause JD’s life is not some silver-spooned kid who was positioned to become the next wave of political leadership,” Donalds responded. “A lot of guys, I think, in the inner city — like, I’m from the inner city — I think a lot of guys in the inner city, when they — some of them — if they take a chance to look at JD, what they realize is JD, although he grew up, you know, as a hillbilly, JD didn’t really grow up much different than a lot of us.”

“Drugs in your community, drugs in your house — JD’s family life was much tougher than my family life. Like I didn’t grow up with my dad, but my mom, you know, she was just a grinder, hard worker, held me accountable. JD had to grow up with a situation with his mom that would have been devastating or destroying to just about anybody,” he continued. “He was able to persevere and overcome that, and still love his family, and still try to do good things. I mean, that’s a success story, man. And I think that’s why, you know, it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be tough for anybody that wants to take him on.”

Vance held a ceremony at the White House on April 4 to celebrate his mother Beverley Aikins’ ten years of sobriety, the White House announced on April 7.

Vance’s 2016 memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” chronicled his mother’s struggles with addiction, which began when she used painkillers to ease headaches, which subsequently led to her usage of Percocet and heroin. Vance was placed into the car of his maternal grandparents, James and Bonnie Vance, following his mother’s arrest while he was a child.

Vance — the first sitting vice president to hold the RNC campaign finance chair role — will be one of the primary fundraisers in the nation for the GOP and play a crucial part in directing its course in the 2026 midterms and beyond. The position will provide him access to major Republican donors and an ability to build rapport with them, solidifying his status as the clear leader for the GOP nomination in 2028, GOP strategists and pundits told the DCNF in March.

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