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theipaper.com

Wednesday March 18 2026

By Anjolaoluwa Fashawe

Journalism Apprentice at The i Paper

Good afternoon,

JD Vance has long been considered a strong option to succeed Donald Trump as the next Republican candidate for President. Yet he seems to have vanished from public view, and in his absence a new power player is emerging.

Secretary of state Marco Rubio could leapfrog Vance to the nomination in 2028. As Joshua Tait says, Rubio’s main strength lies in how he represents both “the past and – perhaps – the future of the GOP”. Where he once was looked down on as a weak part of Trump’s administration, the President has grown to like him. For Joshua, Rubio is “a guy’s guy” and he knows image matters. Not to mention he has held many posts including the acting National Security Advisor, acting administrator of USAID, and, for a while, the acting National Archivist.

Rubio has proven his hand at “acting” but Tait rightfully questions just how pure his motivations are:

“If Rubio runs in 2028, he would likely win back Republicans and conservatives put off by Trump and Vance, including some Never Trumpers. And if he won, it’d probably mean a return to some pre-Trumpian norms and normalcy – certainly more than Vance would.

“But we’ve all changed in the Trump era. How much Rubio has changed at the fundamental level? He’s always been a performer. How much is he just performing for Trump? A war for the soul of the GOP rages within him.”

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Scowling, scolding pensioners owe young people the truth about housing 

Ian Martin wants his generation to admit that their success on the property ladder isn’t down to being “harder working” than young people but sheer luck. 

I live in Canterbury, this is what people really think about meningitis outbreak

As many locals rush to get antibiotics, Patrick Cockburn says his city feels strangely similar to the early days of COVID, before we knew the “real deadliness of the danger.” 

I never thought I’d side with Britain’s poshest people, but they’re being used

The only thing worse than the House of Lords is who could replace it, according to Yasmin Alibhai-Brown. 

Even I was shocked by what happened to my marriage when I became disabled 

Julie Birchill began calling her husband “Dad” as a joke due to their age gap but now being disabled, she relies on her husband as a “toddler on a parent.” 

Miles Taylor, former chief of staff of the US Department of Homeland Security, with his old employer, President Donald Trump

♦ WORLD

I quit Trump’s White House. This is what really could bring him down

Miles Taylor writes about Joe Kent, Trump’s top counterterrorism official, who took the opportunity in his recent resignation letter to expose the President’s weakness. Kent wrote how Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States, making clear that the Iran war was “of choice, not necessity.”

♦ MONEY

A £1m inheritance has let me retire early – and go on an interrailing ‘gap year’

Alina Khan hears from Julie Green, who is about to embark on a 10-week trip interrailing around Europe with her partner at the age of 60, thanks to a million pound inheritance from her step-mum. Despite having spent over 40 years contributing to her pension, Green never thought she would get the chance to retire early.  

Anne Smith from Carmarthenshire agrees with Ian Birrell that autistic people are being let down: 

“It is, as he says, the tip of the iceberg when we hear these tragic stories. Local authorities don’t have the funds unless given to them by central government. Shame on Westminster.”

Robert Boston from Kingshill, Kent says it’s time Labour faces Europe: 

“Some people will correctly see the connection between EU youth mobility
scheme talks, a Labour mayor calling for closer EU alignment, and Sir Ed Davey calling for a “new Magna Carta” and avoiding Trump. If you cannot rely on America then you need to become closer to Europe. Nearer the general election the Lib Dems will call to rejoin, and if the Labour leadership are still in denial, they will haemorrhage votes to Sir Ed. They need to stop prevaricating.”

Click on the poll below to vote.

For this week’s Perspectives question, we asked: “What is the future of the ‘special relationship’?” – 58 per cent of you agreed with Jon Sopel that uggests Starmer’s policy is correct – the US doesn’t really care for us. 

Meanwhile, 37 per cent agreed with Ian Dunt that our obsession with the US is embarrassing, and that we need to get closer to Europe. And 5 per cent  agreed with Zoë Grünewald who predicted that a Reform government would see our country sidelined on the international stage.

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Author: East London