LIMA, Oct 11 — The message was clear as US Vice President JD Vance shook hands in his native Ohio with a woman wearing a “Vance 2028” cap — at least from his supporter’s perspective.

Donald Trump’s deputy has yet to declare that he will run for the White House in two years’ time.

But what was supposed to be a campaign rally on Friday for Republican candidates in November’s US midterm elections in Lima, Ohio looked a lot more like a Vance rally.

With a theatrical flourish, Vance descended from the steps of Air Force Two, the vice presidential jet, and received a rapturous reception as he entered the event in a flag-draped airport hangar.