From The American Norm Dept: Leaked Young Republicans chats show racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric
S. E. Anderson
Leaked Young Republicans chats show racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric
Politico’s trove of Telegram messages from leaders across multiple states shows slurs, praise for Hitler, and gas-chamber fantasies, triggering condemnations, job fallout, and new questions for Elise Stefanik and the GOP’s pipeline of power.
Politico’s publication of nearly seven months, about 2,900 pages, of private Telegram messages from leaders of Young Republicans across New York, Kansas, Arizona, Vermont, and other states offers an unfiltered look at what some up-and-coming party operatives say when they think no one is watching. The logs capture repeated racist, antisemitic, homophobic, and misogynist language, explicit praise for Adolf Hitler, and fantasies about torture, rape, and gas chambers. The participants are not fringe figures but include a state senator, state party officers, staff to elected officials, and a federal appointee. Many already hold positions within the GOP’s political pipeline.
Politico’s reporting summarized it starkly: “They referred to Black people as monkeys and ‘the watermelon people’ and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.” In one example, Peter Giunta, then chair of the New York State Young Republicans and a candidate to lead the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF), wrote, “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.” Joe Maligno replied, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic,” while Annie Kaykaty added, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.” Elsewhere, Giunta responded to an update about support from Michigan with, “Great. I love Hitler.”
The rhetoric was not limited to grotesque jokes. It repeated, normalized, and escalated. Politico counted slurs such as “f––t,” “retarded,” and “n–ga” appearing “more than 251 times combined.” William Hendrix, then the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used “n–ga” and “n–guh” more than a dozen times. Bobby Walker, serving as New York vice chair at the time, called rape “epic.” One exchange proposed “Nazi edits” and “pro Nazi and faciam [sic] propaganda.” Another referenced “1488,” the white supremacist numeric code tied to the “14 Words” and “Heil Hitler.” The contempt extended to multiple groups: “fat stinky Jew,” “inbred cow fuckers,” and a grotesque comment about a pilot that read, “If your pilot is a she and she looks ten shades darker than someone from Sicily, just end it there. Scream the no no word.”
Inside the chat, participants acknowledged the risk of exposure. “If we ever had a leak of this chat we would be cooked fr fr,” one message read. “If we ever had a leak of this chat, we would be cooked,” another echoed. They kept typing anyway. The messages also captured a push to control the national YRNF on an uncompromising pro-Donald Trump platform, with talk of avoiding the “RINO” label and backing the “most right wing person.” The same exchanges veered into infighting, with Giunta claiming the leak was “a highly-coordinated year-long character assassination,” sourced “by way of extortion,” and tied to rivals. Yet he also said, “I am so sorry to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found within the more than 28,000 messages of a private group chat that I created during my campaign to lead the Young Republicans,” adding that he feared the logs “may have been deceptively doctored.” Walker similarly said portions “may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated,” but conceded, “There is no excuse for the language and tone in messages attributed to me. The language is wrong and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize.”
The fallout has been immediate. Politico reported that one participant is no longer employed and another had an offer rescinded. After Politico reached out with excerpts involving Hendrix, a spokesperson said he was “no longer employed” in the Kansas attorney general’s office. New York Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said, “I was shocked and disgusted to learn about the racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic comments attributed to members of the New York State Young Republicans,” calling for resignations. New York State GOP chair Ed Cox added, “I was shocked and disgusted to learn about the reports of comments made by a small group of Young Republicans. Just as we call out vile racist and anti-Semetic rhetoric on the far left, we must not tolerate it within our ranks.”
The revelations also drew scrutiny toward national Republicans who had publicly boosted some of the figures now implicated. Representative Elise Stefanik, who just this summer called New York’s young leaders the “backbone” of the party, faced criticism for initially describing coverage as a “hit piece.” Her senior adviser later said she was “absolutely appalled” and, if Politico’s description is accurate, called for “any NY Young Republicans responsible for these horrific comments in this chat to step down immediately.” Roger Stone said, “If it is authentic, I would, of course, denounce any such comments in the strongest possible terms,” noting the rhetoric would surprise him given his impressions of Giunta’s work.
Democratic leaders and civil rights advocates responded with blunt condemnation. “Welcome to Trump’s Republican Party,” Representative Pramila Jayapal said. “Disgusting.” Maya Wiley asked, “Racism, rape, homophobia, antisemitism … Are we greater yet? Feel safer?” New York Governor Kathy Hochul rejected any attempt to minimize the behavior. “Some bad apples? These are the future of the Republican Party,” she said. “This was so vile it’s hard to find the words to put into context that these are people who are part of one of the two major political parties, and they believe in gas chambers, rape, and discrimination based on the color of people’s skin. These are racist, sexist, disgusting remarks.” She urged the party’s leaders to impose real consequences. “Kick them out of the party. Take away their official roles. Stop using them as campaign advisers,” she said. “This bullshit has to stop.”
The chat logs depict more than cruel talk; they reveal a governing culture. Members strategized about leadership votes while normalizing slurs and violent fantasies. They referenced white supremacist codes and reveled in humiliating out-groups. Separate reporting described financial lapses around the New York State Young Republicans, including missing filings and rising debt, which chat members mocked with lines like “NYSYR Account be like: $500 – Balding cream $1,000 – Ozempik” and “I drained $10k tonight to pay for my next vacation to Italy.” In other words, the mirror the logs hold up to a cohort of would-be power brokers is not only about speech, but about ethics and how power might be used if entrusted to them.
Experts quoted in the reporting warned that this speech environment matters because it shapes policy impulses. Joe Feagin said that a “liberating” political atmosphere “opens up young people and older people to telling racist jokes, making racist commentaries in private and public,” adding, “It’s chilling, of course, because they will act on these views.” Art Jipson noted that repetition breeds acceptance: “You say it once or twice, it’s a joke, but you say it 251 times, it’s no longer a joke. The more we repeat certain ideas, the more real they become to us.”
For a party that relies on pipelines like the Young Republicans to staff campaigns, fill legislative offices, and recruit candidates, the question is whether condemnation translates into discipline and change. The YRNF’s re-elected chair, Hayden Padgett, issued a statement that “The Young Republican National Federation condemns all forms of racism, antisemitism, and hate,” while some state leaders have called for resignations. But the logs also show a group that, in its own words, feared exposure and “kept typing anyway.” Accountability, including removals from posts, donor pressure, codes of conduct, and transparency, will determine whether the rhetoric has real consequences or becomes just another scandal absorbed into partisan noise. ///
s. e. anderson
author of The Black Holocaust for Beginners
www.blackeducator.org
"If WORK was good for you, the rich would leave none for the poor." (Haiti)
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