Vice President JD Vance was briefly suspended from the social media platform Bluesky on June 18, 2025, just 12 minutes after making his first post on the platform. The suspension was later attributed to automated systems designed to detect impersonation attempts rather than content violations.
Vance joined Bluesky on Wednesday evening at 4:50 p.m., stating in his inaugural post that he had been told the app had become the place for common sense political discussion and analysis. His first message addressed the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors, including a screenshot of Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion.
The Vice President’s account was flagged by Bluesky’s automated detection systems within 12 minutes of his first post. A Bluesky spokesperson explained that the account was briefly flagged by automated systems that detect impersonation attempts, which have targeted public figures in the past. The account was quickly restored and verified so users could confirm its authenticity.
Following his reinstatement, which occurred within 20 minutes of the suspension, Vance rapidly became the most blocked user in Bluesky’s history. According to ClearSky data, which tracks blocked accounts on the platform, more than 110,000 users blocked the Vice President since he joined the app, surpassing journalist Jesse Singal’s previous record of 81,270 blocks.
In his series of posts on June 18, Vance referenced Justice Thomas’ opinion, arguing that many so-called experts had used questionable arguments and substandard science to promote experimental therapies for youth. He added that many scientists were receiving substantial resources from pharmaceutical companies to promote these medicines to children. The posts generated immediate backlash from platform users, with many expressing criticism of his presence on the site.
Bluesky, which launched publicly in February 2024, is a decentralized social media platform originally started in 2019 by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey. The platform has been described as a liberal alternative to X, formerly Twitter, particularly after Elon Musk’s acquisition and subsequent changes to that platform’s content moderation policies.
The platform experienced significant growth following the 2024 election, with its user base climbing from 10 million to 30 million users between November 2024 and May 2025. Many left-leaning and LGBTQ+ users migrated to Bluesky seeking what they perceived as a more inclusive environment with progressive moderation policies.
Actor and activist George Takei, who has 1.2 million followers on the platform, advised users to treat Vance’s presence like they did Donald Trump’s birthday parade, suggesting they ignore it rather than engage. Other prominent users encouraged blocking Vance’s account, contributing to his record-breaking block count.
Journalist Jesse Singal, who previously held the record for most blocked user on the platform, commented sarcastically about losing his status. According to the current ClearSky rankings, Vance now leads as the most blocked account, followed by Singal, with accounts including Now Breezing, Brianna Wu, and Mark Cuban rounding out the top five.
Communications experts noted that Vance’s reception was predictable given Bluesky’s predominantly left-leaning user base. Syracuse University professor Jennifer Stromer-Galley indicated that Vance could improve his standing on social media by stopping his criticism of science, expertise, and transgender youth support. She noted that Bluesky had become the platform where left-leaning people congregated after fleeing X.
American University’s Scott Talan suggested that Vance’s late arrival to the platform meant he could not expect a warm welcome, particularly given his history of comments that many on the left would find oppositional. He noted that some might argue Vance joined Bluesky specifically to antagonize users there, fitting the pattern of contemporary polarized social media interactions.
As of the most recent data, Vance had approximately 9,000 followers on Bluesky while being blocked by more than 10 times that number of users. The Vice President has not followed any other accounts on the platform, and it remains unclear whether he will continue using Bluesky for future communications or return his focus to other social media platforms.
The incident highlights the increasingly fragmented nature of social media platforms along political lines, with users gravitating toward platforms that align with their ideological preferences. Bluesky’s total user base has grown to more than 36 million users as of recent reports.
