Vice President JD Vance was briefly suspended from the social media platform Bluesky on Wednesday evening, June 18, just minutes after joining the left-leaning alternative to X and making his first post to the platform.
Vance posted to the site for the first time at 4:50 p.m. ET, introducing himself to the platform with a greeting that expressed his enthusiasm for joining what he described as a place for common-sense political discussion and analysis. His account was suspended within 12 minutes of the inaugural post, according to multiple reports.
The vice president began by addressing the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Tennessee’s law that prohibits prescribing hormones or performing transgender surgeries and treatments on minors. In a series of three posts, Vance featured images from the 6-3 majority ruling and drew special attention to Justice Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion on medical care for transgender youth.
Vance argued that Thomas’ opinion was illuminating because it questioned the authority of experts on the matter of transgenderism in children. He indicated that many scientists are receiving substantial resources from pharmaceutical companies to promote these treatments for minors, asking users for their thoughts on the matter.
A Bluesky spokesperson explained that the suspension resulted from the platform’s automated impersonation detection systems, which flagged Vance’s account as a potential impostor. The company stated that automated systems try to detect impersonation attempts that have targeted public figures like Vance in the past.
The platform restored Vance’s account within 20 minutes of the automated system removing it and added a verified badge to help authenticate the profile. The company welcomed the vice president to join the conversation on Bluesky, according to their official statement.
Bluesky emerged as a decentralized social media alternative after billionaire Elon Musk purchased Twitter, which later became X. The platform has gained significant popularity among liberal users, particularly following President Donald Trump’s 2024 election victory, when many Democratic users migrated from X seeking a more ideologically aligned environment.
The social media site has experienced massive growth, with its user base tripling from 10 million to 30 million users between November 2024 and May 2025, according to data from the Pew Research Center. The platform now has more than 36 million users as of June 2025.
Several users commenting on Vance’s posts appeared angered by his presence on the platform. Some users indicated they had reported his account and posts, with one person reporting the vice president’s post for misinformation. Others encouraged fellow users to not just block but also report the account and posts.
The Supreme Court ruling that Vance referenced in his posts was a 6-3 decision where conservative justices questioned the authority of experts on transgender treatments for children. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion that the Court’s role is not to judge the wisdom, fairness, or logic of the Tennessee law, but only to ensure it does not violate equal protection guarantees.
Justice Thomas argued in his concurrence that there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children. He wrote that in politically contentious debates over matters shrouded in scientific uncertainty, courts should not assume that self-described experts are correct.
This decision is expected to lead to bans or limitations in 25 additional states where similar bills aimed at preventing minors from undergoing permanent gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments have been introduced. In a display of disapproval, Justice Sonia Sotomayor delivered a strong dissent from the bench, highlighting her firm disagreement with the majority’s ruling.
Conservative commentators on X criticized the suspension, with some suggesting it demonstrated bias on the platform. The incident highlighted the challenges social media platforms face in balancing automated moderation systems with user experience, particularly when dealing with high-profile political figures.
After his account was reinstated, Vance posted on X announcing that he had set up his page on Bluesky and hoped to see users there. The brief suspension did not appear to violate any of Bluesky’s community guidelines, as the platform confirmed it was solely due to their impersonation detection algorithms.
