Vice President JD Vance has not been seen engaging in social media battles recently, and the reported reason has stirred controversy. According to a New York Times report, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles advised Vance to refrain from petty online fights, deeming them beneath his office. However, White House spokesperson Steve Cheung has vehemently denied this, calling it 'complete fake news.'
White House Denial
'This isn’t true. We denied it to the New York Times and they refused to run our quote. Complete fake news. This supposed “conversation” never happened,' Cheung stated. The NYT report claimed that Vance frequently scrolled his phone during meetings and that Wiles, along with other West Wing officials, advised him to take a break from social media because such fights were beneath his dignity.
Vance's Own Explanation
JD Vance himself has provided a different reason for his reduced social media activity. He said he took a break from X for Lent, which began on February 18 and ended on April 2. Despite the end of Lent, Vance has not reinstalled the app on his mobile. 'It's one of these things where not having that as a distraction, I think, has made me much more productive,' Vance remarked. 'You're not scrolling all the time when you get five minutes. I can actually read something, as opposed to, you know, scroll or get distracted by X.'
Nevertheless, Vance expressed a desire to eventually reinstall X, citing the value of unfiltered opinions. 'I live in such a crazy bubble,' he explained. 'I travel with Secret Service all the time. If you think about how many unplanned interactions I have in a given week, it's close to zero, because I live in such a bubble.' He added, 'I think one of the good things about social media is that it actually exposes you to unfiltered raw opinions, and that's one of the things that I need to hear as a political leader. So I will definitely reinstall it, but I've enjoyed my little break from it.'
Background
The NYT report highlighted that while President Trump frequently posts on Truth Social, he does not reply to people online, whereas Vance used to engage directly. The report cited people familiar with the interactions, stating that Wiles and other officials advised Vance to step back. The White House's denial has added a layer of tension to the narrative, with Cheung accusing the Times of refusing to publish their denial.
This development comes amid ongoing coverage of the US-Iran conflict, with the White House focusing on more pressing matters. The TOI World Desk continues to monitor global events for the latest updates.
