Washington: Leaked private messages from Young Republican leaders across the US reveal racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric used casually among the party's next generation of activists, Politico reported.
According to Anadolu Agency, the thousands of Telegram messages show members of the group frequently using racial slurs against Black people, making Nazi references, and joking about political violence. The individuals making the comments were not fringe members but chairs, vice chairs, and committee members of the Young Republican organizations in states including Kansas, New York, Arizona, and Vermont.
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans' vice chair, used variations of a racial slur "more than a dozen times in the chat," Politico reported. Bobby Walker, then vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, referred to rape as "epic." Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York organization, wrote that "everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber," according to the messages. Joe Maligno, who identified himself as general counsel for New York State Young Republicans, responded: "Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don't fit the Hitler aesthetic."
The leaked messages also reveal members using white supremacist codes, including the number 1488, which combines a 14-word white supremacist slogan with 88 as shorthand for "Heil Hitler." Following Politico's inquiries, one person lost his job and another had a job offer rescinded. Rep. Elise Stefanik and other prominent New York Republicans denounced the chat.
Giunta apologized while claiming the leak was part of "a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination" tied to internal party power struggles. US Vice President JD Vance responded on the US social media company X, citing a conversation involving Democratic politician Jay Jones. Jones made statements in the conversation defending violence against then-Virginia Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his family: 'Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy,' Jones said in the leaked message. "This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat," wrote Vance.