Vice President JD Vance joked that he sometimes feels like Macaulay Culkin’s character Kevin McCallister in the hit movie “Home Alone” when Donald Trump is away before later brushing off suggestions the president is “toying” with him over who might one day succeed him in the Oval Office.

“So as you know, the president just landed in China a few hours ago. I always, you may know that because of Secret Service protocols that I don’t travel outside of the country with the president of the United States,” Vance began at a press conference promoting his new anti-fraud task force on Wednesday while Trump is in China for a two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“So on days like today, I sometimes feel like Macaulay Culkin in ‘Home Alone.’ I walk into the White House, and it’s very quiet, and no one’s there, and it takes me a second to realize exactly what’s going on,” Vance added.

Vance compares himself to a child without his parent around:"Um... So as you know Trump just landed in China... I always... uh, I-I sometimes feel like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone. I walk into the White House, it's very quiet, and no one's there, and it takes me a second to… pic.twitter.com/8cWJaAYiKX

Later in the presser, CNN’s Kit Maher asked Vance why Trump repeatedly polls people on whether they prefer Vance or Secretary of State Marco Rubio as his heir.

“Why do you think he does that?” asked Maher. “Do you think it’s a little bit of toying with you both over your succession? Why do you think he brings that up?”

Vance playfully replied with a reference to Trump’s past career as a reality television personality: “Well, I just don’t think it sounds like the president of the United States to have a televised competition for who would succeed him as his apprentice.”

He sarcastically added: “I just think that’s not at all what you would expect the president to do.”

Then, turning more serious, Vance continued:

“But no, look, I think the president, he’s always been fascinated by politics. If you talk to him, he was fascinated by politics 30 years before he ever ran for office. So I think it’s natural for him to joke around with us a little bit, to play around with the idea, but I can tell you, the president is as focused as any of us on making sure we do as good of a job now for the American people.”

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