Vice President JD Vance was briefly suspended from the social media platform Bluesky on Wednesday evening, just minutes after making his debut post on the liberal-leaning X competitor. The suspension occurred within 12 minutes of his first message on the platform at 4:50 p.m. ET on June 18.
Vance’s inaugural post welcomed users to the platform, stating he had been told the app was a place for common-sense political discussion and analysis. His message indicated he was thrilled to engage with users on the platform that has become popular among liberals who departed Elon Musk’s X platform.
The Vice President’s first posts referenced Wednesday’s Supreme Court ruling that upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming medical treatments for transgender minors. Vance shared a screenshot of Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion and commented on what he described as problematic approaches to transgender youth medical care.
In his follow-up posts, Vance argued that Thomas’ opinion raised concerns about medical experts using questionable arguments and substandard science to promote experimental therapies for youth. He also suggested that scientists were receiving substantial resources from pharmaceutical companies to push these treatments on children.
The suspension triggered immediate reactions from users and commentators. Conservative figures accused the platform of bias, with one political commentator noting they had banned him already. The far-right Libs of TikTok account posted that Bluesky had banned the Vice President within 20 minutes of joining, claiming liberal users were triggered by his presence.
A Bluesky spokesperson explained the suspension was due to automated systems flagging the account as a potential impersonation attempt. The company indicated there had been many past attempts to impersonate the Vice President on the platform, and the account was flagged as part of that pattern by their automated systems.
The platform’s spokesperson noted that “The account was quickly restored and verified” to help users confirm its authenticity. The company also expressed that they welcomed the Vice President to join the conversation on Bluesky.
Vance’s account was reinstated within 20 minutes of the suspension and received a verified badge to help users confirm the profile’s authenticity. The brief suspension period allowed the platform to verify the account’s legitimacy before restoring access.
The incident highlighted the platform’s rapid growth and changing user dynamics. Bluesky launched publicly in February 2024 as a decentralized social media alternative after Musk’s acquisition of Twitter. The platform experienced massive growth following President Trump’s 2024 election victory, with its user base tripling from 10 million to 30 million users between November 2024 and May 2025, according to Pew Research Center data.
Many liberal-leaning users migrated to Bluesky seeking a more ideologically aligned environment. The platform currently has more than 36 million users as of June 2025, with a layout similar to Twitter’s original design. The platform operates on the AT Protocol and aims to give users more control over their data and experience.
User reactions to Vance’s presence on the platform were mixed, with some expressing anger at his joining. Comments on his posts included suggestions to report his account and posts for misinformation. One user questioned what he was doing on the platform, asking if no space was safe anymore.
Following his reinstatement, Vance quickly became the most blocked user on Bluesky, according to ClearSky data tracking blocked accounts. More than 110,000 users have blocked the Vice President since he joined the platform on June 18, surpassing journalist Jesse Singal as the most blocked user in the app’s history.
The suspension raised questions about the platform’s moderation practices and its ability to handle high-profile political figures. Despite being described as a liberal stronghold, Bluesky maintained that the suspension was purely technical, related to impersonation prevention rather than content moderation.
The incident occurred as social media platforms continue navigating complex political landscapes and verification challenges for public figures. Bluesky’s automated systems for detecting impersonation attempts appeared to function as designed, though the brief suspension generated significant attention and commentary across multiple platforms.