You might recall that Politico recently obtained thousands of Telegram group chat messages from Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The contents are so openly offensive and racist, they remind me of a Simpsons Halloween special when Nelson is horrified by a giant killer pumpkin’s open racism. The killer pumpkin sneers cynically, “All pumpkins are racist. The difference is I admit it.” (Watch below.)
These “Young” Republicans compared Black people to monkeys (unfavorably) and called us “the watermelon people,” as if we’re the only ones who like watermelon. (If we were unreasonably into pears, I would consider that fair game for mockery.) They discussed putting their political enemies in gas chambers, which you might remember from the Holocaust. Someone posted, “I love Hitler,” who is also from the Holocaust. They fantasized about raping their enemies and praised Republicans who they considered pro-slavery, which is apparently now a potential platform. If it wasn’t already obvious, 4Chan has gone mainstream.
(These “Young Republicans” don’t look that young. They should consider eating more watermelon. Hydration is good for the skin.)
Some Republicans did immediately repudiate the Young Wannabe Klansmen. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott said state senator Sam Douglass, who’s head of Vermont’s Young Republican chapter, should “resign immediately,” and leave the party because of his involvement with the texts. Douglass (probably no relation to Frederick) did eventually resign a couple days ago.
“The hateful statements made in this group chat are disgusting and unacceptable. The vile, racist, bigoted, and antisemitic dialogue that has been reported is deeply disturbing,” Scott said. “There is simply no excuse for it.”
The Young Republican National Federation released this statement: “We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article published today. Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents.” The group’s in obvious denial of what the GOP and their “movement” has become, but I prefer denial to public Klan robe modeling.
Of course, this bold anti-Nazi position is apparently not conducive to someday running for president. Donald Trump’s number two JD Vance is anxious to replace him as the GOP’s Grand Dragon, so he rushed to their defense in a shockingly cynical display, even for someone who makes up stories about immigrants eating cats. Vance posted on social media that Jay Jones, Virginia’s Democratic attorney general nominee, had said terrible things in text messages so he wouldn’t indulge in “pearl clutching” over the Young Nazis in his party. “Pearl clutching” is the type of gender-coded term you’d expect from the creep who condemned so-called “childless cat ladies.”
In a later interview, Vance continues defending the “I love Hitler” group chat: “Grow up! Focus on the real issues,” he said, as if pro-Nazi ideology is not a real issue. The Trump administration has shaken down universities over supposed antisemitism on campus. It’s possible that was not entirely on the up-and-up. “Don’t focus on what kids say in group chats... The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys — they tell edgy, offensive jokes. That’s what kids do.”
Obviously, the “Young Republicans” aren’t kids. They are fully grown (physically if not emotionally) adults. Some are close to 40, so more like Vance’s peers. No wonder he can relate. Sam Douglass is a 27, but he’s a state senator who can rent a car. William Hendrix — who frequently dropped the “n-word” and not while quoting rap lyrics or rehearsing a monologue from a Quentin Tarantino script — was until recently a communications assistant for Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach. Joe Maligno, who wrote, “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic,” was once the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans. I think most law schools teach you that words have meaning.
Vance is a big defender of free speech so long as the people speaking share his views, and he appreciates bawdy humor so long as the targets are people he dislikes.
“Most of the stupid things I did when I was a teenager and young adult, they’re not on the internet,” he said, which makes you wonder what else is out there.
This is a very selective grace he shows. After all, if someone on a group chat or social media shares “edgy, offensive” jokes about the late, unjustly sainted Charlie Kirk, Vance urges you to contact their employer and have them fired. They don’t even have to be jokes — simply repeating Kirk’s own vile words is effectively “justifying” his murder. Vance has also conflated cruel jokes about Kirk’s death with an overt call for political violence. Yet he is conveniently blind to any direct link between rape jokes about women and racist jokes about Black peoples to actual violence toward those groups.
It’s revealing that Vance keeps excusing terrible behavior from men as youthful indiscretions. It’s similar to “locker room talk” excuse for Trump’s “grab em by the pussy” remarks on the Access Hollywood tape.
Of course, mainstream Republicans immediately repudiated Trump when the tape dropped. House Speaker Paul Ryan said, “I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified.” (Suggesting that women should be “revered” is sort of objectifying them, but I digress.) Trump’s former running mate Mike Pence said, “As a husband and a father, I was offended by the words and actions described by Donald Trump in the 11-year-old video released yesterday. I do not condone his remarks and cannot defend them. I am grateful that he has expressed remorse and apologized to the American people.”
Vance himself tweeted about the recording, “Fellow Christians, everyone is watching us when we apologize for this man. Lord help us.” He later deleted the post along with the remnants of his soul.
Of course, Donald Trump was the Republican Party’s presidential nominee, and the election was less than a month away. Midterms are more than a year away, and denouncing these dirtbags would seem like low hanging rotten fruit. However, MAGA can’t countenance any moral accountability. That’s the whole reason they elected Trump twice. They considered the 2016 and 2024 elections a victory for men at their worst.
The women who hated Trump but wanted a right-wing, anti-abortion Supreme Court, the Black and Latino men in 2024 who wanted lower grocery prices. They made deals with an obvious devil and this was the price. You can’t separate the vile misogyny and outright bigotry from tax cuts and the price of eggs.
The sad thing about the short human lifespan is that we don't live long enough to really cultivate any institutional memory. There were, of course, avowed racists after WWII, but basically none of them were glorifying Hitler because the memories of the gas chambers and emaciated survivors were still very fresh in our collective memory. As that generation dies off, there isn't anyone alive who remembers, to remind us how bad the Third Reich was, even worse than we were told in school. My nazi hating grandfather (conscripted to the army at age 35 in 1941) would have smacked these vile human pretenders up the sides of their empty, bigoted heads.
Yeah, I don't think any of those Pillsbury Proud Boys have ever seen the inside of a locker room.