The Young Republicans club has denounced its members who were reportedly part of a ‘vile and inexcusable’ group chat that featured offensive, racist content and distasteful jokes about rape and endorsement of Hitler.
On Sunday night, the organization’s Board of Directors issued an apology following the revelation of shocking messages from a Telegram chat involving high-profile members, which were leaked to Politico.
‘We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article published today,’ the statement read.
‘Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents.’
The Board urged those implicated in the scandal to ‘promptly resign from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations.’
Extraordinary text messages emerged earlier on Tuesday purporting to be from members with deep ties to high profile Republicans across the nation.
Some members had even joked they would be ‘cooked’ if the contents of the group chat ever leaked.
Over 28,000 messages exchanged over seven months revealed that some participants referred to black people derogatorily and made horrific jokes about using gas chambers and committing rape against political opponents.
The Board of Directors (pictured) publicly apologized on Sunday night after learning of the leaked Telegram chat contents involving prominent members, as released by Politico.
In light of the scandal, Assemblymember Mike Reilly dismissed his chief of staff, Peter Giunta (pictured), who was accused of being an active participant in the chat, allegedly writing ‘I love Hitler’ and ‘everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber’ in private messages.
Elsewhere, they laughed at the prospect of bullying people so severely they were driven to suicide, frequently used the word n**** and made light of Jeffrey Epstein’s sex crimes.
One of the members allegedly joked President Donald Trump was preoccupied and ‘too busy burning the Epstein files’ during the period the president and his administration were under intense scrutiny for failing to share key documents.
The Young Republican National Federation has 15,000 members across the United States, all aged between 18 and 40.
Some of those members work within elected offices throughout the country. After Politico’s exposé, at least one member of the group chat was let go from his job, and another had an offer of employment rescinded, the publication states.
New York Republicans Rep. Elise Stefanik and state Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt are among politicians to have publicly denounced the chat.
Assemblymember Mike Reilly fired his chief of staff Peter Giunta after he was accused of being an active participant in the chat.
Giunta allegedly wrote ‘I love Hitler’ and ‘everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber’ in the private messages.
‘The comments shared in the group chat that have been reported are extremely troubling and disappointing. They do not align with my values. As a result, Mr. Giunta’s assignment in my office has ended,’ Reilly said.
University of Dayton professor Art Jipson, who specializes in white racial extremism, blamed Trump for influencing the language of young Republicans
Trump attracted mega crowds at his rallies during the presidential campaign
Giunta later issued an apology for the comments attributed to him, saying: ‘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 Republican National Federation.
‘While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored.’
Giunta claimed he had been the victim of a ‘highly-coordinated year-long character assassination’ and had withstood a ‘barrage of slanderous accusations as well as the dissemination of ai-generated social media posts to falsify past statements I’ve been accused of making.’
Bobby Walker, who at the time of the group chat was vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, has also publicly issued a statement after the article alleged he referred to rape as ‘epic.’
He said the messages ‘may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated’ noting the ‘private exchanges were obtained and released in a way clearly intended to inflict harm.’
‘There is no excuse for the language and tone in messages attributed to me. The language is wrong and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize,’ he added.
New York Congressman Mike Lawler also condemned the chat, writing on X: ‘I’m disgusted by the hateful antisemitism and racism revealed in these messages.
‘Anyone involved in this disgraceful behavior should immediately resign from any leadership position and reflect on how far they’ve strayed from basic decency and respect.’
The Young Republicans organization has railed against members involved in a ‘vile and inexcusable’ group chat which joked about rape, supporting Hitler and racism. Pictured: Young Republican National Chairman Hayden Padgett
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston noted Trump had nothing to do with the group chat
In Kansas, the chairman of the Republican Party revealed on Tuesday the entire Kansas Young Republicans organization would be immediately deactivated after prominent members of the chapter were accused of being participants in the chat.
University of Dayton professor Art Jipson, who specializes in white racial extremism, blamed Trump for influencing the language of young Republicans.
‘Trump’s persistent use of hostile, often inflammatory language that normalizes aggressive discourse in conservative circles can be incredibly influential on young operatives who are still trying to figure out, “What is that political discourse?”‘ Jipson said.
White House spokeswoman Liz Huston hit back at that categorization, noting Trump had nothing to do with the group chat.
‘Only an activist, left-wing reporter would desperately try to tie President Trump into a story about a random groupchat he has no affiliation with, while failing to mention the dangerous smears coming from Democrat politicians who have fantasized about murdering their opponent and called Republicans Nazis and Fascists,’ she said in response to the Politico article.
‘No one has been subjected to more vicious rhetoric and violence than President Trump and his supporters.’
