Donald Trump had reportedly once put JD Vance and Marco Rubio in an awkward situation during a private dinner. The embarrassing exchange is detailed in the upcoming book Regime Change by New York Times journalists. The interaction also involved media mogul and business magnate Rupert Murdoch.
Donald Trump reportedly pitted JD Vance and Marco Rubio against one another
Axios published an excerpt from the upcoming non-fiction book Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump, by New York Times journalists Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan. The snippet detailed an awkward moment involving JD Vance and Marco Rubio in 2025 when Donald Trump pitted the two against each other.
The excerpt refers to a private dinner party hosted by Trump in October 2025. It was attended by several notable billionaires, including the former Chairman of Fox Corporation, Rupert Murdoch. During the party, Murdoch sat next to the US president at the head of the table with Vance and Rubio close by.
According to the book, Trump was “in an avuncular mood” when he decided to pose a bombshell question for Murdoch. He asked the tycoon who he liked better, Vance or Rubio, in front of both of them, “sitting awkwardly at the table.”
“They’re both great,” Trump said at the time, asking Murdoch, “What do you think of JD?” The report notes that Trump has often asked his associates and allies if the Vice President or the Secretary of State would run for the 2028 presidential election.
In response, Murdoch said, “Well … I think JD has the potential to be great.” Trump then asked, “What do you think of Marco?” The business magnate supported Rubio as well, saying, “Marco is brilliant.”
Haberman and Swan then wrote, “The other guests would talk privately about the moment for weeks after the dinner.”
Regime Change is set to be published by Simon & Schuster next week, on June 23.
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
