Posted on 07/17/2026 7:29:25 AM PDT by fruser1

It’s no secret that JD Vance has lost the confidence of many Jewish Republicans, who have taken issue with the vice president’s reprimanding of Israeli officials, indulgence of anti-Israel conspiracy theories and silence on Tucker Carlson, the prominent pundit who has turned against Israel.
But Vance is still thought by many to be US President Donald Trump’s likeliest successor at the top of the party’s ticket in 2028, leaving the GOP’s Jewish supporters with the question of whom to back when Trump’s second term ends.
“The overwhelming majority of American Jewish MAGA voters, donors, and policymakers are enthusiastically supporting a Marco Rubio presidential run,” said Shabbos Kestenbaum, whose high-profile activism against campus antisemitism has made him a hero among Jewish conservatives, speaking to JTA this week. “I look forward to voting for him as well.”
Rubio, who is Trump’s secretary of state and national security adviser and served as a US senator from Florida for 14 years, has won the support of a number of Jewish Republicans with his staunch support of Israel and hawkish opposition to Iran. He has signaled a willingness to remove restrictions the Biden administration had placed on violent Israeli settler groups in the West Bank and this week vowed to dismantle the International Criminal Court, which has an arrest warrant for multiple Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Cenk Uygur, the host of The Young Turks, wrote that “half the officials” in Trump’s administration “work for Israel,” including Rubio.
Michael Rectenwald, who heads the Anti-Zionist America Political Action Committee, blasted Rubio’s plan to dismantle the ICC and said the “U.S. is ‘israel’s’ bitch.”
Clint Russell, host of the “Liberty Lockdown” podcast, accused Israel of launching a propaganda campaign and paying influencers to “tank Vance and boost Marco Rubio for 2028.”
(Excerpt) Read more at timesofisrael.com ...
Dear FRiends,
We need your continuing support to keep FR funded. Your donations are our sole source of funding. No sugar daddies, no advertisers, no paid memberships, no commercial sales, no gimmicks, no tax subsidies. No spam, no pop-ups, no ad trackers.
If you enjoy using FR and agree it's a worthwhile endeavor, please consider making a contribution today:
Click here: to donate by Credit Card
Or here: to donate by PayPal
Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794
Thank you very much and God bless you,
Jim
Instead of Dem vs Repub, it's looking like 2028 will be more about who supports fighting Islamic terrorists vs who wants to let them thrive.
Of course they would say that. Rubio is more hawkish.
Most of the American people do not want to get involved in constant wars overseas.
Both of us?
Who’s the other guy?
I’m for Rubio because he has a MUCH better chance of winning a national election. I don’t completely trust him but We must win 28. Must.
Jewish republicans is an oxymoron.
In re: #1: So well put you down for “not wanting to fight islamist terrorists.”
I doubt that this article really takes the pulse of Jewish Republicans. Perhaps it takes the pulse of a segment of Jewish Republicans - the old Jewish neo-con wing who still wants to make the Middle East safe for Israel and actively go to war with Iran and other terror states. But that is not all Jewish Republicans. A lot of Jewish Republicans are moderates who have completely soured on war and are more moderate on economics, which is more in line with Vance’s economic policies.
30% of Jews voted Trump. Which sucks, but is not nothing.
Trump’s approval rating in Israel is at 80%, the highest in the world.
Marco Rubio is an establishment Republican and a globalist stooge. I think his chances of being elected President are damn near non-existent.
There are jewish repooblicans? I really had no idea of such.
Next they’ll support AOC ,LOL
The New York Times of Israel.
Then it would be a good idea to kill the people who have been at constant war with us.
Go back to the 2012 election map — the last presidential election where the Republican candidate was not Donald Trump.
List the states that Romney lost in 2012 but Rubio would win in 2028. The math doesn’t work.
There are 2,000,000,000 muslims.
Probably only 200,000,000 who want to murder me.
What percentage of those has Israel killed again?
Except that 2012 was a long time ago.
To be honest with you, Vance is not going to win with Trump's MAGA coalition because he's not going to have Trump's charisma to pull it off.
So Rubio will have to build a new coalition to get him in the White House in 2028.
I think the ceiling may be higher with Rubio.
I believe Rubio’s parents were not American citizens when he was born. That might matter to some.
The clue is citing Cenk Uygur as their first source.
-PJ
Sneak Peek:
Less that 0.05%.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.