A prominent evangelical leader who has been a strong supporter of President Donald Trump is already making bold predictions about the 2028 presidential election, claiming that a potential campaign pairing Secretary of State Marco Rubio with Ivanka Trump would be virtually unwinnable for Democratic opponents.
Dr. Mike Evans, who founded the Friends of Zion Museum, shared his thoughts with The Media Line on Tuesday morning, expressing confidence that such a political combination could successfully unite Trump’s core supporters with broader American voters.
“If this opportunity is seized, no one could run against these candidates,” Dr. Evans stated during the interview. “There’s no Democrat who could run and beat them. They’ll 100% win the White House back.”
Dr. Evans conducted this interview as international tensions were escalating, with Israeli forces reportedly advancing further into Lebanon territory, while President Trump simultaneously announced that the United States and Iran were approaching a potential agreement, even as American forces targeted Iranian positions in what Tehran described as a “grave violation” of the fragile ceasefire between the nations.
The evangelical leader praised both potential candidates, saying that Ivanka Trump “has the intelligence, she has the communication skills, she has it all, and she can cross over the base. Marco Rubio is the veteran with all the experience. So, I personally believe, if Marco Rubio and Ivanka run … no one can touch them with a 10-foot pole.”
According to Dr. Evans, Ivanka Trump could potentially reach the presidency within the next ten years, but serving as vice president initially would allow her to continue her father’s political legacy, with “the entire evangelical base, 100% of them, will support that on steroids.”
Shifting focus to international affairs, Dr. Evans discussed his belief that President Trump is currently pursuing a diplomatic agreement with Iran, though he emphasized this doesn’t mean the president would tolerate Iranian uranium enrichment, ballistic missile development, interference with the Strait of Hormuz shipping lanes, or continued funding of regional terrorist activities.
Dr. Evans characterized President Trump’s approach by saying he “plays the long game, so he’s looking at Iran, and he’s also looking at the clock. He knows he has two and a half years [left in office].”
The evangelical leader warned that President Trump refuses to allow anyone to “play him for the fool,” and if they attempt to do so, he will “go for your throat with revenge.” Dr. Evans suggested that if Tehran attempts to deceive or underestimate President Trump, “Iran can’t imagine in their worst nightmare what he will do to them. He will come back in a way they couldn’t possibly imagine.”
Dr. Evans has established himself as an influential evangelical figure who claims to have predicted major political developments, including the Abraham Accords years before their implementation during a speech at a conference hosted by a major publication. He also maintains that he anticipated President Trump’s political resurgence following his 2020 election defeat. During a 2024 speech in Jerusalem, Dr. Evans mentioned correspondence he had sent to President Trump during the period between his presidencies, urging him to use his Republican Party influence to advocate for military action against Kharg Island.
The evangelical leader has consistently positioned himself as one of President Trump’s most dedicated religious supporters and has been a vocal advocate for aggressive policies toward Iran, frequently discussing the conflict through both political and religious perspectives.
Dr. Evans expressed his belief that President Trump recognizes the significance of the upcoming midterm elections and the potential political limitations that could result from Republicans losing control in Washington.
“The Republicans need to stay in power, because then if the Democrats are in power, they can pass legislation to block the president from everything, including war in Iran,” Dr. Evans explained. “So we need to win these midterms. This is very important.”
Based on this political calculation, he anticipates that President Trump will likely delay any major escalation with Iran until after the midterm elections conclude.
However, Dr. Evans also argued that President Trump has already demonstrated his willingness to authorize significant military operations despite potential political consequences.
“I don’t think he’s capitulating over the midterms, because if he was basing his decisions on the midterm, he would have never attacked Iran,” Dr. Evans observed. He noted that President Trump is “dancing with the gorilla in the midterms, and the dilemma you have with this gorilla he’s dancing with is it’s affecting the US economy, affecting the prices of food, affecting the prices of oil, and he doesn’t want to lose the midterms, because we know what the Democrats will do to him in the next two years.”
He suggested that even if President Trump reaches an agreement with Iran, the country should not anticipate significant concessions from the United States. Instead, Dr. Evans argued, President Trump would provide Iran with an opportunity to demonstrate good faith, and if Tehran fails to meet expectations, “he’s not going to allow Iran to play games … He’s had the courage to do the right thing, and the damage he’s done to Iran is unbelievably significant, so I think he’s trying his best to balance both these complicated dilemmas, without compromising.”
Dr. Evans also predicted that President Trump will work to expand the Abraham Accords by bringing Saudi Arabia and other nations into the agreement before the midterm elections and their political ramifications take effect.
“This will be a game changer for the state of Israel, because it builds a firewall for Israel,” Dr. Evans stated.
President Trump facilitated the original Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and later Morocco during the final period of his first presidency. Sudan also became a signatory to the accords, though its involvement has been effectively suspended due to the civil conflict that erupted in the country in April 2023. Kazakhstan became the most recent addition to the Abraham Accords when it officially joined on November 6, 2025.
Dr. Evans added that the “greatest military maneuver is sometimes not advancing but retrenching. It’s regrouping for the next battle. So, I’m not one bit worried about Israel.”
In May 2024, Dr. Evans installed prominent billboards throughout Jerusalem displaying an hourglass image overlaid on the Islamic Republic’s flag, accompanied by a prediction that the Iranian Ayatollah regime would fall by October 28, 2028. This date corresponds with the 7th of Aban in the Iranian calendar, which is observed as Cyrus the Great Day.
Many evangelical Christians draw comparisons between President Trump and Cyrus, who is referenced in the Book of Isaiah, as an example of how imperfect, non-believing leaders can still be instruments for advancing divine purposes.
“I still believe by 2028 it’ll happen,” Dr. Evans maintained. “It may not happen in the exact month I’m saying, but I believe it’s going to happen in the fall of that year.”
He explained that the collapse of the Iranian regime requires time and that “Trump knows what he’s doing … I believe he’s playing the long game, and I believe he knows exactly what he’s doing, and it’ll be just fine.”
Dr. Evans also discussed the anticipated Israeli election, which is expected to occur within the next five months. He advocated for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek reelection, stating that “he’s done an enormous amount of good for the state of Israel. No prime minister has done what he’s done.”
He dismissed Netanyahu’s opponents, including former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, as “characters.”
In 2021, Dr. Evans launched a harsh public criticism of then-Yamina leader Bennett for his role in removing Netanyahu from power. He distributed a letter to Bennett that gained widespread attention on social media, in which he accused the leader of having “betrayed the very principles that a generation gave their blood for and died for. You want to be in bed with the Muslim Brotherhood and leftists. God have mercy on your soul. You’re a pathetic, bitter little man so obsessed with murdering Netanyahu that you’re willing to damage the State of Israel for your worthless cause.”
Dr. Evans subsequently issued a personal apology for that letter.
He informed The Media Line that Christians will continue supporting Israel regardless of who serves as prime minister, but emphasized that “no person on the planet is more loved by evangelicals than Benjamin Netanyahu, not even Donald Trump … If you think of evangelicals globally all over the world, this is the bridge builder, this is the one who speaks our language.”
He suggested that alternative prime ministers would be unlikely to understand how to effectively engage with evangelicals to the same degree as Netanyahu and would probably lack meaningful relationships with this constituency.
“They’ll be at a tremendous disadvantage,” he concluded.
