Will Trump run as VP in 2028?
I'm listening to the "Trump 2.0 and Court Politics" episode with Erica Frantz, and Putin keeps coming up as a key example of personalist politics.
In 2008, Putin was term-limited as President in Russia, so he could not hold the office again. Instead, he got Deputy PM Dimitry Medvedev to take the office while Putin took on a technically "subordinate" role as PM from 2008-2012.
Yet, Medvedev's position as President was largely ceremonial. In personalist politics, power runs through the strongman, no matter which office he holds. In this case, the PM role was more powerful simply because Putin held it.
Do you think that Vance and Trump will switch roles in 2028, with the former running as president and the latter as VP? Considering the cult of personality surrounding Trump, Vance could easily defer to Trump on all major decisions. It wouldn't even be unprecedented considering the power dynamic between Cheney and Bush in his first term.