Vance silence on Musk may be Game of Thrones tactic ever

The kingdom is in turmoil, the great Houses of Musk and Trump at war, and their subjects forced to choose sides, But as the scheming Littlefinger in Game of Thrones famously said as he plotted to take the King's place: "‘chaosisaladder.” AndsoiitisforJD Vance, the ostensibly loyal vice president, and perhaps the person who stands to benefit the most from the chaos unleashed by the feud between Elon Musk and Donald Trump — which is perhaps why he’s remaining uncharacteristically subdued.

- Richard Hall, The Independent

Vance has never been one to shy away from a fight, especially an online one, especially if it’s in defense of his boss, He once launched a 400-word diatribe against historian Niall Ferguson for criticising Trump's Ukraine policy, slamming his “moralistic garbage” and “historical iliteracy.”

He had no problem accusing senior members of his own party of “pettiness” for voting against what Trump wanted, and mocked world leaders who've had run ins with the president. The practicing Catholic even found himself on the wrong side of the Pope himself when he got into another online beef with British politician Rory Stewart over Trump's deportation policies. So one would expect the online warrior to rush to the defense of his president in response to the firestorm of abuse unleashed by Musk against the president on Thursday, which began with accusations of ungratefulness and ended with claims of him being close to Jeffrey Epstein.

But Vance hasbeen remarkably quiet. His only public comment at the time of writing has been the kind of terse statement a wife givesin support of a cheating politician spouse. “President Trump has done more than any person in my lifetime to earn the trust of the movement he leads. 'm proud to stand beside him,” Vance wrote on X. Thenext day, he continued withhis lawyerly posts.