Nazi chat leaks and sparks outrage, JD Vance defends Young Republican leaders

These examples, found throughout the roughly 2,900 pages of Telegram messages reviewed by Politico, reveal a consistent pattern of racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric among leaders of the Young Republicans.

Politico recently published a bombshell investigation into a Telegram group chat involving several leaders of the Young Republicans, where participants exchanged messages that included disturbing jokes about gas chambers and expressions of admiration for former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Among the most disturbing material in the Telegram group reviewed by Politico, were repeated racial slurs aimed at Black, Jewish, Latino, and Asian individuals, as well as messages praising rape, slavery, and psychological torture, and encouraging the harassment of political opponents to the point of suicide.

According to Politico, more than 2,900 pages of Telegram messages exchanged over a seven-month period between leaders of various state chapters of the Young Republican National Federation were leaked and reviewed by the outlet. The conversations, involving officials from states such as New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont, revealed a disturbing pattern of racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric.

The chats include messages such as «Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber,» and «I’m ready to watch people burn now,» attributed to Peter Giunta. Other exchanges record participants praising Nazi imagery with lines like «Great. I love Hitler.» Several members repeatedly used racial slurs in redacted form and referred to Black people as «the watermelon people.»

In one thread, a participant wrote «It was rape,» to which another replied «Epic.» There are also messages discussing tactics of harassment — «When do we start bullying dude?» — and references to inflicting «physiological torture» on rivals. These examples, found throughout the roughly 2,900 pages of Telegram messages reviewed by Politico, reveal a consistent pattern of racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric among leaders of the Young Republicans.

According to Politico, the fallout from the leaked Telegram group chat has already led to repercussions for several participants. William Hendrix, former vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, who repeatedly used racial slurs, is no longer employed at the Kansas Attorney General’s office. Bobby Walker, then head of the New York State Young Republicans, who referred to rape as «epic» in the leaked messages, was dropped from a congressional campaign. Peter Giunta, chair of the same organization, wrote that «everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.»

Both Walker and Michael Giunta apologized for their offensive messages but suggested the leaks were politically motivated, calling them part of a «character assassination» effort by members of the New York Young Republican Club.

Vice President JD Vance repeatedly defended the comments, minimizing the seriousness of the group chat’s content. Speaking on The Charlie Kirk Show podcast, he described the participants as «young boys,» saying that «kids do stupid things» and dismissing the messages as merely «edgy» and «offensive jokes.»

However, several of the group’s participants were far from «kids»: members of the Young Republican National Federation involved in the scandal ranged from 22 to 36 years old, including Peter Giunta, who is 31.