Vance Defends Young Republicans 

Vice President JD Vance responded to the controversial leak of racist and antisemitic messages from a Young Republican group chat, calling them “stupid jokes.”

Context

A Politico investigation this week published thousands of text messages from a Telegram group chat involving leaders of Young Republican organizations across multiple states. The messages, which spanned seven months, included jokes about gas chambers, slavery, and rape, along with racial slurs and references to Hitler.

Vance’s Response

In an interview on “The Charlie Kirk Show” on Wednesday, Vance characterized the outrage over the messages as cancel culture.

“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That's what kids do,” Vance said. He argued that making offensive jokes in a private group chat should not "ruin their lives." According to the report, eight of the eleven members ranged in age from 24 to 35.

Message Contents

The chat contained over 250 uses of racial and homophobic slurs. Members referred to black people as “monkeys” and “the watermelon people,” joked about sending political opponents to gas chambers, and described rape as “epic.”

In one exchange, the Kansas chair for Young Republicans said one of Michigan’s Young Republicans promised to vote for “the most right wing person,” to which another Young Republican chair replied, “Great. I love Hitler.” The group also discussed concerns about the consequences if their chat became public, with one member writing, “If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked fr fr.”

Other Reactions

Following the publication of the messages, several participants lost their jobs or had job offers rescinded. Both Democratic and Republican leaders condemned the messages. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on President Trump to condemn the “revolting messages,” while prominent New York Republicans, including Representative Elise Stefanik, denounced the chat and called for resignations.

The Young Republican National Federation’s board of directors called the language “vile and inexcusable” and demanded that those involved resign from their positions within state and local Young Republican organizations.