Leaked Young Republicans Chat Blows Up Into a Massive GOP Mess

Talk about a political firestorm: A huge dump of leaked Telegram chats from Young Republican leaders has the GOP scrambling, with racist rants, Hitler shoutouts, and all sorts of ugly stuff coming to light. It's led to firings, group shutdowns, and a ton of finger-pointing from everyone involved.The whole thing exploded when Politico dropped over 2,900 pages of these messages on October 14.

We're talking chats from folks in New York, Kansas, Vermont, Arizona, and beyond, full of shocking rhetoric calling Black people "monkeys," cracking jokes about slavery and gas chambers, praising Hitler, and even cheering on violence and rape against rivals. Yikes.

The backlash hit hard and fast. In New York, Peter Giunta, ex-chair of the state's Young Republicans and a bigwig staffer, got the boot from his job. Over in Kansas, the state GOP straight-up dissolved their entire Young Republicans outfit after its leaders got caught up in this. A bunch of other chat participants, some with official party gigs, have quit or been kicked out.

The national Young Republican crew (YRNF) jumped in quick, slamming the messages as total garbage and telling everyone involved to step down. Top Republicans across the board are calling it "disgusting" and "revolting," making it clear this doesn't fly with the party.

On the flip side, Democrats and groups fighting hate, like the NAACP and Anti-Defamation League, are blasting this as proof of some serious rot in the GOP's younger ranks.

They're pushing for deeper investigations into it, saying it's not just dumb kid stuff but a sign of real extremism that could turn off voters as midterms loom. One Dem insider put it bluntly: "This shows a scary side of what's brewing in conservative youth groups."

It's all over X with people posting clips, raging about it, and hashing out what it means for the Republicans. Some see the party's quick cleanup as a good move, while others think it's just the tip of a bigger iceberg in right-wing circles. It's even already got its own Wikipedia page as a key scandal in GOP history.

Vice President J.D. Vance stirred the pot by brushing it off as "edgy, offensive jokes" from "kids" or "young boys" doing "stupid things."

That take's getting roasted from all angles, with even some Republicans saying it downplays legit hate and could make things worse.

Let's call it like it is: Vance's spin on these chats as just harmless, immature banter is not only shortsighted but downright hazardous in today's climate. By chalking it up to "kids being kids," he's basically giving a pass to stuff that's straight-up racist and antisemitic, which ignores how this kind of talk can fuel real hate and division.

Think about it – dismissing Hitler praise or slavery jokes as "edgy" sends a message that bigotry is no big deal if it's "just joking." That's stupid because it normalizes toxic crap that can inspire actual violence or push people further into extremist corners. In a world where online rants have led to real-world chaos, like shootings or riots, downplaying this stuff is dangerous; it could embolden more of it and make it harder to call out hate when it matters.

Sure, Vance might be drawing from his own rough-and-tumble background or trying to fight back against "cancel culture," but critics say that's missing the point. This isn't about punishing every bad joke; it's about holding leaders accountable so hate doesn't seep into politics. Even some in his party are pushing back, arguing it reflects deeper issues that need fixing, not excuses. Bottom line: In a polarized country, this kind of minimization just ramps up the risks for everyone.