Republicans don't need Trump to run again. Vance is ready to take the lead. | Opinion

When I heard last year that Donald Trump was considering JD Vance as his vice presidential pick, I added that to my long list of disappointments in the Republican Party. No offense to the now former senator from Ohio, but Vance came across to me as stuffy, religious and boring. Boy, was I wrong.

And I've never been more glad to be wrong. Vance this week factored into the president's response to reporters' questions about whether he might run for a third term. "There are methods which you could do it," Trump said Sunday in an interview with NBC News .



Although the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution bars a president from serving more than two terms, the NBC reporters floated the idea of Vance winning the GOP nomination for president in 2028, selecting Trump as his running mate and then ceding power to Trump once elected. Hard no, as the kids say. Republicans don't need Trump to use Vance as a Trojan horse to sneak back into office.

Vance is the future of the Republican Party, not Trump. Share your view: Do you think Trump will run for a third term? Take our poll. | Opinion Vance is a great communicator of Trump's agenda Vance has shown that he is capable of much more than a supporting role in the years ahead.

That is one of many reasons why the idea of Trump running for president in 2028 should be moot. Vance already is a much better communicator than Trump, who often rambles. The vice president is persuasive in all kinds of formats.

Whether it's pummeling Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz during last year's vice presidential debate , speaking to journalists or defending free speech to European leaders , Vance sounds prepared and confident. Vance also is well-versed in the tenets of the free market, personal responsibility and liberty.

On social media and in speeches, Vance is able to communicate how those values work together to make America stronger and Americans' lives better. Last week, at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia, the vice president delivered an inspirational address that explained Trump's vision for the U.S.

military better than Trump can himself. "Under President Trump's leadership, we believe in a very simple principle," Vance said. "We don't care who you are, where you came from.

We don't care what skin color you are. We care about excellence and we care about patriotism. And if you are awesome and you are a patriotic young Marine, then we are going to do everything that we can to make you the most lethal fighting force the world has ever seen.

And that is what we're doing every single day." Sign me up. Opinion: I'm tired of being mocked and hated because I'm a conservative woman Vance has an inspiring story of his own, growing up in a poor family plagued with domestic violence and substance abuse.

He eventually graduated from Yale Law School, wrote a bestselling memoir and was elected to the U.S. Senate in his native Ohio .

Vance also appears to be an adoring husband and devoted father, which contrasts with Trump's personal woes. Republicans' deep bench includes Haley and Rubio Vance isn't the GOP's only strength. Unlike the Democratic Party, Republicans have a deep bench ‒ including former U.

S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley , Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. In contrast, key Democratic leaders like New Jersey Sen.

Cory Booker and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez come across as desperate and flailing to recover from their party's disastrous results in last year's elections. Opinion newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter on conservative values, family and religion from columnist Nicole Russell.

Get it delivered to your inbox . Vance, the first millennial to serve as vice president , can be the bridge connecting Trump's base of support, the still-emerging constituencies of the new right and conservatives like me who still worry about Trump's character and personality. Republicans have the opportunity to chart a new course in 2028.

JD Vance may well be the leader the GOP needs to take the helm once Donald Trump's days in the White House are done. Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas. Contact her at nrussell@gannett.

com and follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @russell_nm . Sign up for her weekly newsletter, The Right Track, here . You can read diverse opinions from our USA TODAY columnists and other writers on the Opinion front page , on X, formerly Twitter, @usatodayopinion and in our Opinion newsletter .

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump's third term talk is nonsense. Vance is ready to lead | Opinion.