Senator John Kennedy, age 74, stated he would consider running for president in 2028 if he believes he can do a better job than the other potential candidates. He made these remarks on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. He mentioned that a presidential run would be contemplated should he feel ineffective in the Senate.
When asked about the field of potential candidates, Kennedy remarked that he would think about running if he believed he could perform better than others. He declined to speculate about running against Vice President JD Vance. He declared that he is not there yet and assumes JD is going to run.
While discussing his future, Kennedy defended Senator Tom Cotton from President Trump's recent anger. The President released Cotton's personal cellphone number after the Arkansas senator blocked a bill to make daylight savings time permanent. Kennedy called Cotton a "rock star senator" and said he feels strongly about the issue. He argued that "Daylight Savings Time is not one of them."
Kennedy also noted that the President can be "tempestuous." Despite the friction, Kennedy stood by his colleague. He said he does not think the President should have given out Tom's cellphone number. This defense comes while Kennedy is busy campaigning for other Republicans in the midterm elections. He recently traveled to Ohio to stump for Senator Jon Husted and to New Hampshire with former Senator John Sununu.
Kennedy's comments show that he is watching the 2028 landscape very closely. Kennedy assumes Vance will run. He believes it will be good for both parties to have a full field of candidates.
This is a clear signal to the base that he is not ruling anything out. He is 74 years old and up for re-election in 2028. He said his answer to whether he is thinking about running was simply, "Yeah." He followed up by saying, according to Breitbart, "But right now, I'm running for reelection." The message is simple: he is loyal to his current job but ready to step up if the party needs him. Returning to New Hampshire, which leads the primary calendar, he plans to also visit Texas and Michigan. His stance remains that he will not talk about other candidates until he makes a decision.