Vice President JD Vance said Big Tech companies are “in the limelight.”
Vice President J.D. Vance said in an interview Sunday that Big Tech was still “in the limelight” as he pressed the presence of various tech CEOs at President Trump’s inauguration, as well as the group’s combined million-dollar donation to the inaugural event.
“The richest people in the world were in that Capitol on Inauguration Day. Mark Zuckerberg of Amazon, Google, Facebook. You told us in August that Google and Facebook were too big. We need to take the Teddy Roosevelt approach. Don’t let them control what people are allowed to say. Donate to Trump’s inauguration now.” CBS News’ Margaret Brennan noted the seating arrangement on Inauguration Day she asked Vance.
Brennan’s question came as the presence of major tech CEOs sparked backlash from many in the media, such as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. These CEOs include Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai and X’s Elon Musk.
“We believe that Big Tech has too much power and there are two ways to do it. You can respect the constitutional rights of Americans – you stop engaging in censorship, and if you don’t, you can be. I’m absolutely sure that the leadership of Donald Trump will not look kindly on them,” said Vance.
Vice President J.D. Vance Sudnai said that despite Big Tech’s philanthropic donation to President Trump’s birthday, “it’s still in the spotlight.” (Screenshot/CBS)
Brennan asked if the CEOs were still on notice.
“They’re very publicized,” Vance replied.
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The major donations and attendance at Trump’s inauguration mark a major departure for Big Tech, which has largely imposed a temporary ban on Trump’s public profiles on social media platforms in 2020. These companies have become increasingly critical of the Biden administration, expressing displeasure over White House surveillance efforts.
Zuckerberg specifically announced that Facebook and Instagram would end their fact-checking methods and use community notes in the future.
Mark Zuckerberg, Lauren Sanchez, Jeff Bezos and Sundar Pichai pose in front of the Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol on Monday, January 20, 2025 in Washington. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
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The group’s presence at Trump’s inauguration was deemed necessary, CNN’s Jake Tapper lamented on Monday that America is “going into an era of profound lies, and all kinds of misinformation and the role that those five people play or don’t play.” They will play a role that, four years from now, will be crucial in terms of the American public’s understanding of what is true and what is false.
Vance also seemed to argue that the presence of tech CEOs at Trump’s inauguration wasn’t all that important, noting that many attendees didn’t donate to the inauguration festivities.
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“They’ve got a great seat,” argued CBS’s Brennan.
“Like my mom and a lot of other people who were going to help us, they didn’t have a place to sit,” Vance said.