>> Continued From the Previous Page <<
Cruz brushed aside the 2028 chatter as media theatrics. But his answer revealed more than he likely intended. He said, “Reporters are going to write headlines that get clicks and get eyeballs. I got a job — it’s representing 31 million Texans. And I’ll tell you right now, the wins we are getting are historic.”
Foreign policy has become one of the major dividing lines inside the Republican Party. Cruz has championed a robust and intervention minded posture, arguing that American leadership is essential for global stability. Vance and other Trump aligned conservatives say the opposite. They believe Washington should stop pouring billions into foreign conflicts until American families at home are taken care of.
The Texas senator again separated himself from rivals by calling for urgent attention on violent persecution targeting Christians abroad. He warned that the United States must not turn away from these crises. He said Monday that “It’s why my focus right now is on the Christians in Nigeria,” then added that he was recently “at the White House last week with the president, thanking him for standing up for the Christians in Nigeria.”
That focus comes as Rep. Riley Moore of West Virginia announced that 7 thousand Christians were killed in Nigeria in 2025. Cruz used that statistic to draw a contrast with the previous administration, accusing Biden of looking the other way. He did not mince words. He said, “When Biden turned the other way, more and more murders occurred. Because when the commander in chief is absent, is AWOL, bad guys do really bad things. I’m glad we now have a strong commander in chief who will stand up and say, ‘We’re not going to do nothing while you commit mass murders of Christians.’”
WATCH:
Cruz’s team did not comment on Axios’ reporting about his political maneuvering. But the silence is telling. Cruz ran in 2016 and finished second behind Donald Trump. He has spent nearly a decade staking out hard line positions on national security and foreign policy while becoming one of Israel’s strongest defenders on Capitol Hill.
With President Trump barred from running again, Republicans are now watching a potential showdown between Cruz, Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. All three are seen as contenders to inherit the MAGA base. Trump himself has stayed neutral. He has praised Rubio and Vance but has not anointed a successor. He has hinted however that a Vance Rubio ticket would be “formidable.”
For his part, JD Vance is not pretending anymore. In an interview with Sean Hannity, the vice president openly acknowledged that he is thinking about a 2028 run once the midterms are over. Hannity asked him if he has considered it. He replied, “I would say that I’ve thought about what that moment might look like after the midterm elections, sure. But I also, whenever I think about that, I try to put it out of my head and remind myself the American people elected me to do a job right now and my job is to do it.”
The battle for Trump’s successor has quietly begun. Cruz just made sure it will not be quiet for long.
