Speculation has swirled about who will lead the Democrats as a civil war ravages the party after Trump’s historic 2024 election. JD Vance, while speaking to Fox’s Bret Baier, joked that he thinks President Trump is the real leader of the DNC before sharing his thoughts about the Democrats under Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) leadership.
For context, AOC is a member of the “squad,” which is a loosely organized group of extremist Democrats. Rep. Cortez is infamous for her ultra woke views on the border, LGBTQ issues, and President Donald Trump. While she has not announced her intention to run, polls show that she dramatically outperforms Chuck Schumer among Democratic party members.
In any case, the segment began when Bret Baier asked Vice President Vance what he thought of a possible AOC presidency. Laughing, Vance answered, “President AOC, the stuff of nightmares, Bret, thank you. You’ve ruined my sleep for this evening,” adding, “I don’t know.”
Building on this point, the vice president joked that Trump was the real leader of the Democratic Party. He said, “I think to the extent the Democrats have a leader, Donald J. Trump is the leader of the Democratic Party. Because they’re just against everything that he does. Who could possibly disagree with rebuilding American manufacturing and ensuring these steelworkers have higher wages and better jobs?”
Continuing his insightful analysis, he blasted the Democrats for their over-emotional politics. Vance explained, “Any time Donald Trump does anything, they have this emotional response, they have to be against. Who could disagree with deporting millions of illegal aliens, many of whom are violent criminals? But they do, they have>”
Exposing the DNC for its weak leadership, Vance continued his all-out attack. The vice president stated that the party was reactive, saying, “Whenever Donald J. Trump does something, they react negatively to it. They don’t have real leadership.”
Concluding his remarks, Vance expressed confidence in the next election. He said, “I think it’s why I’m not too concerned about 2028, because if I wake up in a fantasy world where the Democrats actually have constructive ideas about how to govern this country, that’ll actually be a good thing. But in the world that we actually live in, where they’re just anti-Trump about everything, the politics of 2028 will take care of themselves.”
"*" indicates required fields
Vance was far from the only person to comment on the possibility of an AOC ticket in 2028. One prominent conservative influencer took to X on March 23, 2025, to speculate on the next election, saying, “Bernie Sanders will be 87 in 2028. This is just a vehicle to push for AOC to be the de facto president. It will face strong resistance from within the Democrat party. Kamala Harris is still the most popular candidate for 2028, according to polling.”
Watch the clip here:
In the comments under his post, social media users chimed in with their predictions. One such comment read, “It’s shaping up to be another 2020 bloody primary. Kamala will have the edge, but by 2027, who knows if she’ll have kept the popularity in the party.”
Featured image from embedded video