Politics
JUST IN: JD Vance Kicked Off Major Social Media Platform
Vice President J.D. Vance was canceled on social media after he extended an offer to engage in a good-faith debate with liberal users, the latest sign that acrimony between the White House and the far left is as strong as ever.
Bluesky, which launched in response to Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, now X, has become the de facto home for journalists, progressive activists, and woke crusaders seeking a safe space while communicating primarily through writing. The platform operates much the same way X does, but its users live in an alternate reality that contrasts with the conservative slant X has taken under Musk.
On Wednesday, Vance joined the progressive platform, opening his account with a call for “common sense” political discussion about the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision upholding a state ban on transgender surgeries for minors.
“Hello Bluesky, I’ve been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis,” Vance wrote on the X competitor. “So I’m thrilled to be here to engage with all of you.”
He cited a concurring opinion by conservative Justice Clarence Thomas that cited conflicting studies about the health of minors who undergo life-altering surgical or chemical procedures to address gender dysphoria, or the condition where a person feels their body does not align with which gender they prefer.
“To that end, I found Justice Thomas’s concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating,” Vance wrote, including a screenshot from the 6-3 ruling.
“He argues that many of our so-called ‘experts’ have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth,” the vice president continued. “I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids.”
“What do you think?”
Within 12 minutes of Vance joining, users were soon treated to a message indicating that his account was no longer active.
“Not found. Account has been suspended,” read a message on Vance’s Bluesky page, first noticed by Axios.
The post does not appear to have run afoul of any community guidelines, according to the NY Post, but the immediate decision to ban Vance underscores how badly progressives have sought to confine themselves to an echo chamber on social media.
The Post collected replies by other Bluesky users who were outraged that Vance had the temerity to invade their safe space.
“Don’t just block. Report the account and the posts,” one person fumed.
Another claimed they “reported” Vance “for misinformation.”
A spokesperson for Bluesky blamed the brief ban on a belief that someone was impersonating the vice president.
“Vice President Vance’s account was briefly flagged by our automated systems that try to detect impersonation attempts which have targeted public figures like him in the past. The account was quickly restored and verified so people can easily confirm its authenticity,” a spokesperson for the company said. “We welcome the Vice President to join the conversation on Bluesky.”