Overview

• In an interview with Dana Loesch, Shapiro said it is unlikely J.D. Vance can simply inherit and win with Donald Trump’s coalition in 2028.
• He argued Trump’s outsized persona allows him to unify disparate factions in a way no current Republican figure can match.
• Shapiro described an internal struggle for control of the movement, citing a conspiratorial wing he linked to Marjorie Taylor Greene and Tucker Carlson and a libertarian‑minded current associated with Elon Musk.
• He pointed to what he called uneasy seams within Vance’s orbit, naming tensions between Peter Thiel‑aligned libertarians, Tucker‑style isolationists, and big‑government Appalachian populists.
• Acknowledging that vice presidents often become nominees, he said history shows coalitions don’t transfer automatically, referencing George H.W. Bush after Ronald Reagan and Hillary Clinton after Barack Obama.