"Trump has not officially endorsed a potential successor"

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. He'll endorse the candidate who meets the following criteria:

1. They have a realistic chance of winning, making Trump look like a kingmaker

2. The candidate’s campaign writes him the biggest check.

Reminder: the 2028 Republican field will likely be crowded with close to two dozen candidates, including many not mentioned in the poll, such as:

Noem
Rubio (despite his denials)
DeSantis
And many red state governors like Youngkin and Kemp, as well as various billionaires.

…and don’t forget about Liz Cheney (although I think the odds favor her running for the open Wyoming senate seat)

Regardless of who he endorses, they won’t be the nominee- it will be somebody like Kemp or Youngkin, who have threaded the needle by maintaining plausible deniability that they are neither MAGA cultists nor Never-Trumpers.