J.D. Vance is becoming a favorite of the MAGA movement, but President Trump isn't quite prepared to anoint his vice president as his successor.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump gave measured praise for his "very capable" lieutenant, while warning it's "too early" to declare him the heir apparent of Trump's historic MAGA movement.

"No, but he’s very capable," Trump said. “I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a very fantastic job. It’s too early, we’re just starting,” Trump added.

Trump pumps brakes on Vance

When anchor Brett Baier noted that Vance would be looking for an endorsement by the 2026 midterm cycle, Trump demurred.

“A lot of people have said that this has been the greatest opening — almost three weeks — in the history of the presidency,” Trump replied.

Vance is the early favorite in the 2028 Republican presidential primary, with the president's eldest son Donald Jr. also a possible contender. Trump Jr. is friends with Vance, and he lobbied for the former Senator to join the president's VP shortlist.

The vice president has made a meteoric rise, first winning election in 2022 to the Senate in his native Ohio after a critical endorsement from Trump - whom Vance had previously criticized during the president's 2016 campaign.

Vance has continued to gain popularity on the right with his vigorous, intellectual defenses of President Trump's agenda, and the Yale-educated lawyer's skillful dismantling of biased questions from liberal reporters, like CBS' Margaret Brennan, has added to his appeal.

Trump in command

Trump's decision to pick Vance as his running mate was initially criticized, with some predicting - incorrectly, it turned out - that Vance's rough, populist edges would alienate voters.

The vice president's pugnacious approach is a stark change from the squishiness of the more conventionally Republican Mike Pence, Trump's first vice president, who tended to flow under the radar. Trump had a falling out with Pence after he certified the contested 2020 election results.

It is possible Trump has loyalty on his mind as he contemplates Vance's future, although so far, Vance has been a steadfast - and often controversial - supporter of the president.

In his first few weeks as vice president, Vance has scrapped with religious leaders, deploying theological arguments to dispatch criticism of Trump's mass deportations - and prompting pushback from the head of Vance's own Catholic church, Pope Francis.

Outrage

Vance has also faced outrage from the left for defending Trump's executive power against judicial overreach:

If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal.

If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that's also illegal.

Judges aren't allowed to control the executive's legitimate power.

— JD Vance (@JDVance) February 9, 2025

But while Vance is a rising star on the right - and many may see him as Trump's logical successor - the president is tamping down the enthusiasm a notch.

At the end of the day, Trump wants everyone to remember that he's in charge, and he'll make whatever decision seems best to him.