I've read a couple of biographies of Theodore Roosevelt, and have seen him referred to as "The hurricane who walked like a man." A weak and sickly child, the young Teddy suffered from asthma, until he decided, no, he wasn't - and then physically wrestled the asthma out of his body, pinned it to the ground, and throttled it to death. An advocate of the strenuous life, Teddy Roosevelt was one of the highest-energy presidents we've ever had. That's as opposed to Joe Biden, who was on the opposite end of that spectrum.
Now, in this 21st century, we have another high-energy president, although admittedly, he's quite a bit older than Teddy, who was one of the youngest presidents to hold office. Donald Trump has drive and energy; agree with him on any given issue or not, he has energy and determination, and to spare. Even his opponents must realize that.
Here's the catch - President Trump will only be in office three more years. What happens to the presidency and the Republican Party after he's gone? Predictions are hard to make, especially about the future, but let's make a few anyway.
President Trump is different than any president we've had before, if you'll give me a moment to belabor the obvious. He speculated about running for the presidency years before we did, claiming that if he ran, he'd win. He made one abortive run in 2000, on the Reform Party ticket. That run lasted only a few months. He reportedly speculated about running as early as 1988 - but in 2015, he made the famous descent down the golden elevator and announced his entry into a packed stable of Republican hopefuls. Like many, I thought at the time that he'd drop out, but Trump kept winning primaries because of his no-nonsense, gruff demeanor that sold as plain talk, and his relentless drive; it was at this time that his trademarked, huge rallies came into being. In the summer of 2016, I remember the late Dr. Charles Krauthammer saying that he had initially dismissed Trump's candidacy as a joke, but then added, "...it's beginning to look like he might pull this off."
He did. Twice, the first president to hold non-consecutive terms since Grover Cleveland. But now, here in 2026, almost eleven years later, we have to wonder what - and who - comes next.
As for the Republican candidate for 2028, vice presidents are generally accepted to be the heir apparent, and it would appear that Vice President JD Vance is up to the task. He's shown a knack for dealing with unfriendly media. He's smart, he has a beautiful family, and a compelling life story. Most of all, he endorses Trump's Make America Great Again policies, while being milder, less prickly, and more thoughtful than Trump. Marco Rubio has done a splendid job as Secretary of State, which gives him the foreign policy chops; while he could run on his own, a Vance/Rubio ticket would be formidable. Other possible candidates include Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, although for the duration of Republican management of the executive branch, I'd rather keep SecWar right where he is.
There are many others; unless JD Vance announces early and hits the trail early, he'll have challengers, and that's good. We should want him, or anyone else who runs in 2028, to face a tough primary. It takes stone to sharpen steel, and a primary is a good dress rehearsal for the real thing.
Read More: Trump Says He's Suing JPMorgan Chase After Debanking Him in 2021
Trump and Walz Both Make Moves on Chaos in Minneapolis, As MN National Guard Post Raises Eyebrows
What's really interesting about President Trump, though, is his effect on Democrats and the Democratic Party. The Democrats have drifted, as a group, considerably to the left since 2015, and that's largely due to one man: Donald Trump. Trump Derangement Syndrome achieved pandemic status among Democrats in 2016, during the primaries, as Trump was elbowing his way through his primary opponents and later beating Hillary Clinton over the head in debates. Trump is the man the left loves to hate, and the party has reflected that. Hate isn't conducive to reason, and the Democrats have been driven to distraction by Trump's very existence. Oh, they had some advance practice in Bush Derangement Syndrome, but George W. Bush didn't seem to inspire that white-hot hatred that Donald Trump does.
Here's the thing: The Democrats, thanks in large part to Donald Trump, have drifted so far to the left that their polling approval numbers, as a party, are now somewhere between those of roadkill and manure heaps.
Predictions are hard to make, especially about the future. But we know a few things, like that the Republican Party has changed, taking on a more populist bent. We know that the Democratic Party has changed, taking on a more Looney Tunes bent. And we know that Americans, no matter who we vote for in 2028, will be comparing every candidate against Donald Trump. Love him or hate him, he's made some changes, and even now, at 79 years of age, he still has energy and determination that a young Teddy Roosevelt would recognize.
