Close-up of U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance speaking during a swearing-in ceremony for Newly confirmed U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio
(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

‘You know who else was at the inauguration?’: JD Vance dodges question about Trump’s promise to break up big tech

Vice President JD Vance, along with President Donald Trump, promised to “break up” big tech while on the 2024 campaign trail. Months after winning the election, Vance was rather evasive about the plan when asked about it in his first sit-down interview as the nation’s vice president.

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During his interview with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation, Vance was asked about the presence of tech billionaires in the presidential inauguration. Photos and videos of tech billionaires Bezos, Zuckerberg, Pichai, and Musk in the front row of the inauguration circulated online. Brennan reminded Vance that he talked about using the Roosevelt approach to big tech once he and Trump were elected. Essentially, they’d break apart big tech and limit their control over free speech. Brennan asked, “They’ve now donated to the Trump inauguration. Are you still going to break up big tech?”

Vance had an incredibly left-field response to Brennan’s question. “You know who else was at the inauguration? My mom.” He further justified that the million-dollar donation to the Trump inauguration from these billionaires was irrelevant because many people decided to donate regardless. Instead of answering Brennan’s question, he doubled down on his trollish response, saying, “They didn’t have as good a seating as my mom.”

Aligned with big tech

This would’ve been a hilarious, trollish meme if these words didn’t come from the sitting vice president of the United States. Not everyone is buying into Vance’s theatrics and lack of response. One X user concluded, “Trump is funded by American oligarchs.” Even if Vance didn’t fumble this interview, that much about Trump’s campaign is well documented. Elon Musk pranced around Trump on stage and heavily influenced his presidential campaign.

Another X user pointed out that Vance couldn’t even answer a simple question, yet MAGA is critical when opposition candidates deliver flawed speeches. They wrote, “He is the same establishment politician that MAGA complains about.” Needless to say, breaking up big tech seems unlikely for the Trump-Vance duo. Not when they actively benefit from their propaganda being spread online.


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Vanessa Esguerra
Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.