JD Vance refuses to indulge in ‘pearl-clutching’ over leaked Young Republicans chat
JD Vance refused to speak strongly on the publication of private messages shared between members of the Young Republicans.
US Vice President JD Vance tried to downplay the offensive nature of text messages shared among a group of Young Republicans leaders that were brought out by Politico. In an exposé published on October 14, the outlet revealed the pervasive use of violent language, racial slurs, offensive terms and admiration of Nazis among the people in the group.
However, Vance claimed that the matter is not as serious as it is being made out to be. He compared the text messages brought out by Politico to random college group chats and the leaked text messages of Virginia Democratic attorney general nominee Jay Jones. Vance shared a screenshot of text messages Jones wrote in a post on X.
In these messages, Jones seems to be making violent wishes about former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert.
“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia,” Vance said. He also described the reactions to the Politico exposé as “pearl clutching.”
“I refuse to join the pearl-clutching when powerful people call for political violence,” VP Vance added.
Major embarrassment for Republicans
Politico has published 2,900 pages of text messages shared between members of Young Republicans. They were full of slurs used for African-Americans and homosexuals, expressions of desire for violent acts against political opponents and unapologetic admiration for the Nazis.
One of the top names to feature in the exposé was Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York State Young Republicans. “Everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber. And everyone that endorsed but then votes for us is going to the gas chamber,” Giunta was quoted as saying in one of the texts.
Also Read: Who are William Hendrix and Peter Giunta? Young Republicans leaders named in racist chat leak
He was referring to an upcoming poll on whether he should be elected as the chair of the Young Republican National Federation. When asked why he wants to “send” people voting for him to the gas chamber, he wrote: “I’m going to create some of the greatest physiological torture methods known to man.”
Use of the N-word and talk of rape was commonplace in the text messages, Politico claims. The messages were exchanged in a group of a dozen young members of the organization on Telegram, between January and August this year. It further mentioned that some of the members of the group are now part of US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The Young Republican National Federation’s board of directors issued a statement on Tuesday where they condemned the comments and asked people quoted in the text messages to immediately resign, The Hill reported.
FAQs:
What was Vice President JD Vance speaking about?
VP Vance was referring to the publishing of text messages shared privately between some members of the Young Republicans organization.
What did the texts contain?
They showed the members of the group using racial slurs, offensive language and talk of violence against their political opponents.
When were the texts leaked?
They were published on October 14 by news outlet Politico.
