Former New York Post editorial page editor Scott McConnell, who co-founded the magazine The American Conservative in 2002 with former Reagan White House Communications Director Pat Buchanan, is advising President Trump’s Vice President JD Vance on how to run, or not run, for president in 2028.
On Sunday, McConnell wrote on social media: “My advice to Vance: Announce your support of 25th amendment transition. Say Chris Murphy or similar will be veep. Announce you will NOT be a candidate in 2028. Use your position, access to the media to explain why this is necessary. Don’t resign.” (The 25th amendment allows the vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare the president unfit, transferring power either temporarily or permanently.)
Note: The American Conservative was the only conservative publication in the early 2000s to oppose the Iraq War, and was later credited with putting Vance’s memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, “on the map” after publishing its interview with Vance in July 2016.
.@JDVance you used to be against Middle East wars of choice. You served with a generation that saw the damage. Our nation needs you & other Republicans to step up & stop this madness. This may be the biggest foreign policy blunder of the 21st century. That is saying something. https://t.co/PjxgUiOWwv
— Ro Khanna (@RoKhanna) March 23, 2026
When asked by his followers on X why he chose U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), McConnell described the Connecticut Senator as “An antiwar Democrat, smart and not super woke.”
Others criticized McConnell for the suggesting the use of the 25th amendment. “With great respect, having followed you for so many years, this is [expletive] crazy,” wrote one fellow conservative.
U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) voiced agreement with McConnell and wrote to also encourage Vance: “@JDVance you used to be against Middle East wars of choice. You served with a generation that saw the damage. Our nation needs you & other Republicans to step up & stop this madness. This may be the biggest foreign policy blunder of the 21st century. That is saying something.”