MAGA has begun turning on Vice President JD Vance, and that development has left room for rivals while complicating his standing with his conservative base, a columnist argued on Wednesday.

The Guardian’s Arwa Mahdawi discussed how Vance has been eating sauerkraut and losing weight under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s recommendations, but said he still appears unable to keep his MAGA coalition satisfied. Kennedy recently commented on Vance’s weight loss, claiming he lost 20 pounds in 20 days.

“JD Vance is also on the diet, and you can see how different he looks,” Kennedy said.

“Dunno about that: still looks like a naked opportunist to me,” Mahdawi wrote.

Amid reports that Vance’s security detail has accommodated frequent or last-minute helicopter trips for his family, his standing among Republicans has also come into question, according to The Washington Post. Those kinds of controversies can matter in a primary environment because they feed into the broader question of whether a vice president can hold together a coalition that prizes loyalty, discipline and ideological consistency.

“Vance’s allies told the Post that the attacks, which seem largely driven by his mild criticism of Israel and the Iran war, are a ‘coordinated’ attempt to poison his 2028 presidential chances,” Mahdawi wrote.

She added that angering the GOP could create a path for Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the 2028 presidential race, a reminder that early jockeying is already shaping how Republican figures are being judged by donors, activists and poll watchers.

“I can’t say it’s not fun to watch MAGA infighting,” Mahdawi quipped. “Nevertheless, it’s hard to take too much satisfaction from Vance’s troubles considering they only really benefit his rival for the 2028 Republican nomination: the odious war hawk Marco Rubio, who is now narrowing the gap with Vance in the polls. A setback for one awful politician always seems to spell a career boost for someone even worse. It’s really quite the pickle.”