Exclusive
AD-VANCE
JD Vance will be president after Trump despite failing, says ex-Obama aide – as he predicts who will run for Dems
He said Vance will have to take along Trump's winning coalition of voters if he runs again for president
VICE President-elect JD Vance will be the next US president unless the Democrats get their act together, a former Barack Obama aide has predicted.
Brett Bruen, former director of global engagement in the Obama White House, also named who he believes the Democrats should put forward next to run in the 2028 presidential election.
6
6
6
Bruen, now president of the public affairs agency the Global Situation Room, also told The U.S. Sun this election had been a victory for Trump more than it had been a win for the Republicans.
He was speaking as Trump secured a crushing victory over the Democrat Kamala Harris.
Trump swept all eight swing state races in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, winning 312 electoral college seats to 226.
His victory was also the first time a Republican had won the popular vote since 2004.
READ MORE ON U.S. POLITICS
Ohio Senator JD Vance is now poised - at just 40 years old - to become one of the youngest vice presidents in US history, ahead of a likely run for president at the end of Trump's second term in 2028.
Bruen, a key aide in the White House under Obama, said that while this victory clearly belonged to Trump, the Democrats had to act quickly to find their next candidate.
"This is clearly Trump's victory, and it will be interesting to see what happens after Trump leaves office, and you have another Republican run for the presidency," Bruen said.
"JD Vance was clearly chosen as the heir apparent in the MAGA movement," he added.
Most read in The US Sun
He also said that Vance was going to "try and play an effective second fiddle role," during Trump's second term.
But he said it remains to be seen whether Vance will be able to take along Trump's winning coalition of voters if he runs again for president.
Thought Kamala was bad- Secret 'Dem polling map' shows how Biden would've been DESTROYED by Trump…even losing home state
During the campaign's final weeks, there were rumors that Trump regretted his pick of running mate, as Vance faced accusations of awkwardness and of being - in the words of Kamala Harris' VP selection Tim Walz - just "plain weird."
Vance was also slammed by the Dems as "misogynistic" after comments resurfaced of him labeling women without children as "childless cat ladies."
Bruen went on, "Whether or not Vance can discard some of the 'weird' factor and become a political figure in his own right, is still very much an open question."
Vance's ascent to America's second-highest office follows a remarkable rise to power.
In 2016, Vance published his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, documenting his upbringing in rural Ohio with a drug-addict mother in left-behind America.
Now he stands poised to run for president in four years' time.
NEXT FOR HARRIS
In the wake of the Democrats' defeat, Kamala Harris' political future is in doubt.
Some have predicted she may run for a senate seat in her native California, or even run for president again, following the path set by Republican Richard Nixon, who lost the 1960 election before securing the presidency eight years later.
But Bruen believes the scale of last week's defeat means Harris' political career is effectively over.
"I don't think, after the debacle of this week, you can make another run for the presidency," Bruen said.
This leaves a power vacuum at the top of the Democrats.
That, he said, "opens up a question [of] who will be the next leader or leaders of the Democratic party."
DEM CANDIDATES
So who does Bruen believe is best poised to lead the Democrats into the 2028 presidential election?
For Bruen, there is a clear choice - under one condition.
"Hakeem Jeffries, if he is able to ascend to the speakership, is the clear next leader," he said.
Jeffries, the 54-year-old New York representative, has served as House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Democratic Caucus since last year.
The next leader faces a major fight to unite the warring party, with the progressive and centrist Democrat wings already openly fighting over who is to blame for the scale of the defeat.
There will be a food fight, for who is going to inherit the throne
Brett Bruen
Bruen said that among the other candidates will be some of the leading Democrat governors, such as Gavin Newsom in California, JB Pritzker in Illinois, and Gretchen Whitmer in Michigan.
"I think there's going to be a lot of folks heading out to those early presidential primary states governors like Newsom, Whitmer, and Pritzker," Bruen said.
"Quite frankly, there will be a food fight for who is going to inherit the throne."
6
6
6
WHO NEXT FOR THE DEMS?
FOLLOWING the 2024 presidential election rout, former Obama aide Brett Bruen has listed his picks to run for the Democrats in four years' time.
- Hakeem Jeffries - New York Representative. House Minority Leader & Leader of House Democratic Caucus since 2023. One of the impeachment managers in Trump's second trial.
- Gavin Newson - California Governor. Long-rumored to be keen on a run to be president. Insiders say he is almost certain to run in 2028. Took on many Republicans in a series of public debates.
- Gretchen Whitmer - Michigan Governor. Unable to run for governor again in 2026. Became a national figure in 2020 when she challenged then-President Trump over federal assistance during the Covid pandemic.
- JB Pritzker - Illinois Governor. Was considered a VP contender for Harris before she eventually picked Tim Walz. Has made challenging 'Project 2025' a key part of his political future.
Bruen called on the Democrats to avoid the temptation to swing to the populist left in the wake of their defeat to a populist right-wing Trump.
Following the election which saw a number of key demographics swing to the Republicans, veteran independent senator Bernie Sanders accused the Democrats of "abandoning" their working-class base.
But Bruen said there is a key group that the next Democrat candidate must focus on winning back.
"Ultimately, it will come down to the person who is able to best connect with Middle America," he said.
"To show that they can have that resonance in places where the Democrats struggled this time."
Bruen also told The U.S. Sun that history "will not be kind" to Joe Biden following his vice president's defeat.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He said Biden should never have planned on running in 2024, and that the Democrats should have held an open primary.
As it was, Biden only stepped aside in July following a disastrous debate performance, giving the party just three months to find a new candidate.
Topics