2026年3月30日 / 美国东部时间晚上9:13 / 哥伦比亚广播公司新闻
作者：加布·卡明斯基
田纳西州纳什维尔 —— 周一晚间，纳什维尔奢华的四季酒店一楼排起长队，富裕的保守派捐赠者焦急等候，排队搭乘电梯上楼聆听一位特别嘉宾的演讲：美国副总统。
JD万斯担任了洛克布里奇网络春季闭门峰会的主讲嘉宾，这是一个隐秘的捐赠者团体，万斯2019年以私人投资者身份参与创立。据现场一名消息人士透露，此次活动约有250名捐赠者成员参与，每人参会费用至少为10万美元。
该消息人士向哥伦比亚广播公司新闻透露，万斯的演讲重点围绕他领导特朗普总统新成立的反欺诈特别工作组的工作，以及即将到来的2026年中期选举，以及共和党保住国会两院多数席位面临的挑战。
这位副总统出席洛克布里奇会议之际，富裕的共和党人正为预计到来的中期选举“蓝色浪潮”做准备。与特朗普先生结盟的政治团体预计将在未来八个月斥资数亿美元。
但这场持续多日的会议也笼罩着另一场选举的猜测——2028年总统大选。上周末美国保守派政治行动会议的受访者中，53%的人表示万斯是他们心目中2028年共和党总统初选的首选候选人。国务卿马尔科·鲁比奥在该CPAC民调中获得35%的支持率，位居第二。
“洛克布里奇的成员们会支持JD，他们愿意 backing JD，”一位要求匿名的保守派风险投资家在谈及洛克布里奇团体时说道。
万斯的发言人未回应置评请求。
现场聆听万斯演讲的消息人士表示，他“完全没有”提及2028年大选。
“这么做显然不太明智，”该消息人士说道。
本周在纳什维尔，商业与政治的微妙融合尽显无遗。据知情人士透露，万斯当天早些时候在该市出席了一场共和党筹款活动。
随后他赶赴洛克布里奇活动现场，与大型捐赠者和商界人士交流——如果万斯2028年参选，这些人将是助力他的关键力量。其中包括亿万女继承人丽贝卡·默瑟，以及小唐纳德·特朗普的商业伙伴奥米德·马利克，后者是万斯的亲密盟友。马利克和小特朗普共同领导1789资本，这是一家“反觉醒”投资公司，默瑟是该公司联合创始人之一。
洛克布里奇联合创始人克里斯·巴斯克也参与创立了1789资本。根据联邦选举委员会的备案文件，支持特朗普的主要超级政治行动委员会“让美国再次伟大公司”自去年6月以来，已向Thumos Strategy支付了超过10万美元的“战略政治咨询”费用，该公司的注册地址为巴斯克在亚利桑那州的住宅。
万斯似乎正处于这些不同利益的交汇点。“洛克布里奇和1789资本有重叠的利益圈，他们希望JD成为继任者，”另一位保守派投资者告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻。
曾担任特朗普2024年竞选团队高级顾问的资深共和党战略家克里斯·拉西维塔被看到在洛克布里奇会议上与特朗普的大型捐赠者默瑟交流。据知情人士透露，他在一个关于中期选举的小组论坛上发表了讲话。
万斯抵达后不久，“让美国再次伟大”阵营的乡村歌手基德·洛克被看到走进四季酒店。其他被认出的来宾包括：曾与贾里德·库什纳及美国特使史蒂夫·维特科夫夫一同参与中东外交工作的白宫高级官员乔希·格伦鲍姆；巴西企业家塔利斯·戈麦斯；以及来自亚利桑那州的风险投资家、前共和党联邦参议院候选人布莱克·马斯特斯。
JD Vance appears at secretive conservative donor summit as 2028 presidential speculation grows
March 30, 2026 / 9:13 PM EDT / CBS News
By Gabe Kaminsky
Nashville, Tennessee — A line snaked around the first floor of the posh Four Seasons hotel in Nashville Monday evening as wealthy conservative donors eagerly waited their turns to ride an elevator upstairs to hear a special guest speak: the vice president of the United States.
JD Vance headlined a closed-door gathering for the spring summit of the Rockbridge Network, a secretive donor group that Vance co-founded in 2019 during his stint as a private investor. According to a source in the room, there were about 250 members of the donor community at the event, which cost at least $100,000 per person to attend.
Vance’s remarks focused on his role leading President Trump’s new anti-fraud task force, as well as the fast-approaching 2026 midterm elections and the challenge for Republicans to keep both chambers of Congress, the source told CBS News.
The vice president’s appearance at the Rockbridge conference comes as wealthy Republicans gird for an anticipated blue wave in the midterms. Political groups aligned with Mr. Trump are expected to spend hundreds of millions of dollars in the next eight months.
But looming over the multi-day event was also speculation about a different election — the 2028 presidential contest. Fifty-three percent of respondents at the Conservative Political Action Conference last weekend said Vance was their preferred candidate in the 2028 Republican primary. Secretary of State Marco Rubio earned 35% support in the CPAC survey, coming in second place.
Rockbridge members are “the people that will be rallying around JD, and they want to back JD,” said one conservative venture capitalist, granted anonymity to discuss Rockbridge.
A spokesperson for Vance did not respond to requests for comment.
The source who was in the room for Vance’s remarks said he did not discuss 2028 “at all.”
“It obviously wouldn’t be too smart to do that,” the source said.
In Nashville this week, a subtle blending of business and politics was on full display. Earlier in the day, Vance appeared at a Republican fundraising event in the city, according to someone familiar with the matter.
Then it was on to the Rockbridge event, where he mingled with megadonors and businesspeople who could be key to bolstering Vance should he run in 2028. Among them were billionaire heiress Rebekah Mercer and Omeed Malik, a business partner of Donald Trump Jr., a close Vance ally. Malik and Trump Jr. help lead 1789 Capital, an “anti-woke” investment firm that counts Mercer as a co-founder.
Rockbridge co-founder Chris Buskirk also helped launch 1789 Capital. According to Federal Election Commission filings, Make America Great Again Inc., the main pro-Trump super PAC, has paid more than $100,000 since last June for “strategic political consulting” to Thumos Strategy, a firm that lists its address as Buskirk’s home in Arizona.
Vance appears poised to stand at the crossroads of those varying interests. “There is a Venn diagram where Rockbridge and 1789 meet, and they want JD to be the heir apparent,” another conservative investor told CBS News.
Chris LaCivita, the veteran Republican strategist who was senior adviser to Mr. Trump’s 2024 campaign, was seen mingling at the Rockbridge conference with Mercer, a Trump megadonor. He spoke on a panel about the midterms, according to someone familiar with the matter.
Soon after Vance’s arrival, the MAGA country star Kid Rock was seen walking into the Four Seasons. Others spotted included Josh Gruenbaum, a senior White House official who has worked on Middle East diplomacy with Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff; Brazilian entrepreneur Tallis Gomes; and the venture capitalist and former Republican U.S. Senate candidate from Arizona, Blake Masters.
