Former President Donald Trump remained ambiguous about his position on the Department of Justice recommending a possible breakup of Google.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Trump heavily criticized the tech giant, saying it treats him “very badly.” Despite this, he stopped short of openly supporting a breakup.
“Google is rigged just like our government is rigged,” he said.
“What you can do without breaking it up is make sure it’s more fair,” Trump suggested.
Trump’s Justice Department was the first to accuse Google of developing an illegal search monopoly, an accusation that developed into an August court decision ruling that the company had violated antitrust laws. The judge is still deciding what the punishment will be.
Trump cited competition with China as the reason for his skepticism of an outright Google breakup, saying that “China is afraid of Google.”
“It’s a very dangerous thing because we want to have great companies,” he said. “We don’t want China to have these companies.”
Trump’s running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), is an open supporter of breaking Google up, saying in a July interview shortly after being selected as running mate that the government should “absolutely” break it up.
“This is one of the most dangerous companies in the world,” he said, adding that Google searches don’t display information fairly.
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“We’ve got to break this company up,” Vance continued. “I actually think you hear growing calls…from across the political spectrum recognizing that Google is too big, too powerful, and they use their market power to control American politics.”
Despite Vance’s bullish stance, Trump has remained ambiguous on the topic.