Vice President JD Vance has sought to downplay the racist texts circulated by young Republicans, as reported by Politico on Tuesday.Gage Skidmore/ZUMA
Vice President JD Vance would like you to do anything but pay attention to those abhorrent leaked texts from young Republicans that Politico covered on Tuesday. And if you do read them, he wants you to think they’re just “kids” saying “edgy, offensive” things.
Except that they appear to be full-grown adults, according to Mother Jones’ analysis of public records and reports of the participants’ ages.
The messages, culled from thousands of private texts between 11 young GOP leaders in four states, were exchanged between January and mid-August of this year, according to Politico. The texts show the Republicans extensively using racist, antisemitic, and homophobic slurs, among other consistently bigoted insults. Here’s a taste from the Politico story:
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the words “n–ga” and “n–guh,” variations of a racial slur, more than a dozen times in the chat. Bobby Walker, the vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic.” Peter Giunta, who at the time was chair of the same organization, wrote in a message sent in June that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber.”
Since Politico’s story published, several prominent Republican politicians and organizations have condemned the messages. The National Young Republicans group said in a statement that the language used was “vile and inexcusable,” adding, “such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents.” The statement called for participants in the chat to resign from any leadership roles in GOP groups.
Leaders of the state Republican parties in both New York and Kansas, states that had participants represented in the chat, condemned the texts. So did Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who has been rumored to be running for governor and told Politico she was “appalled” by the texts.
Another top Republican, though, had a different take: Vice President JD Vance. On the right-wing cable channel Real America’s Voice on Wednesday, Vance dismissed the messages as representing only the immaturity of “kids,” arguing that they were getting far too much attention.
“By focusing on what kids are saying in a group chat—grow up! I’m sorry,” Vance said. “Focus on the real issues. Don’t focus on what kids say in group chats.”
One problem with this defense? The people in the group chat aren’t “kids” but full-grown adults. By scanning public records and media reports, Mother Jones determined the ages of eight of the 11 participants in the chat: They appear to range from 24 to 35. Ages for three other participants—Bobby Walker, Michael Bartels, and Rachel Hope—were not publicly available. Bartels declined to comment to Politico, and the outlet could not reach Hope for comment. Walker told Politico parts of the chat “may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated,” adding, “The language is wrong and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize.”
Spokespeople for the White House did not immediately respond to questions from Mother Jones on Wednesday night, including about at what age Vance believes people are adults who should be held responsible for their actions.
Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans vice chair, and Luke Mosiman, chair of the Arizona Young Republicans, were, at 24, the youngest participants in the chat whose ages Mother Jones could determine through public reporting and records. Politico reported Hendrix used variations of a racial slur more than a dozen times in the chat.
According to Kansas NPR affiliate KCUR, Hendrix lost his job as communications assistant for Kansas’ Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach after Politico reporters asked his boss, who is also the state GOP chair, about the texts. Hendrix did not respond to Politico’s requests for comment. The Kansas GOP said it was “disgusted” by the comments and that they do not reflect the views of Kansas Republicans, who, it emphasized, “elected a black chair a few months ago.” The Kansas Young Republicans reportedly became “inactive” after the messages were published.
Hitlergate wasn’t about kids, and Vance knows it.
In the chat, Mosiman called for the rape of a rival young Republican leader, and at another point said, “The Spanish came to America and had sex with every single woman.” He declined to comment to Politico.
The oldest appears to be Joe Maligno, who public records suggest is 35. In the chat, he spoke about gas chambers and used a racial slur toward Chinese people. Maligno previously identified himself as general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans. Maligno did not respond to requests for comment from Politico. According to a Wednesday follow-up report from the outlet, he lost his job as an employee of the New York State Unified Court System.
A handful of other participants seem to fall in the middle of that age range. According to public records, Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committee member who, in response to Maligno’s comment about gas chambers, said, “I’m ready to watch people burn now,” is 28. Alex Dwyer, chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, who wrote a series of numbers used by white supremacists and wrote, “Sex is gay,” is 29; Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York State Young Republicans, who referred to Black people as “watermelon people” and “monkeys” and said, at another point, “I love Hitler,” is 31.
Chat member and supposed “kid” Samuel Douglass is a 27-year-old state senator in Vermont, according to reports. In the group chat, he claimed a woman a mutual friend was dating, who some presumed was Indian, “didn’t bathe often.” Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott has called on Douglass to resign; Douglass has apologized but has not yet said whether he would resign.
Kaykaty and Dwyer declined to comment to Politico. Giunta apologized for the messages in a statement but claimed they were part of a “highly-coordinated year-long character assassination” effort by fellow New York politicos. According to Politico’s follow-up story, Giunta lost his job working for New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly. Politico characterized Giunta as “the most prominent voice in the chat spreading racist messages—often encouraged or “liked” by other members.
Vance’s defense did not stop at suggesting the participants were too young to take responsibility for their actions. He also implied they should not have to, casting members of the chat as unfairly victimized. Instead of saying he planned to warn his children not to use such vile language, for example, Vance said he would tell his three kids—“especially my boys”—“don’t put things on the internet. Be careful with what you post. If you put something in a group chat, assume that some scumbag is going to leak it in an effort to try to cause you harm or cause your family harm.”
“But the reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys—they tell edgy, offensive jokes,” Vance continued. “That’s what kids do. And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke—telling a very offensive stupid joke—is cause to ruin their lives. And at some point we’re all going to have to say, ‘Enough of this BS. We’re not going to allow the worst moment in a 21-year-old’s group chat to ruin a kid’s life for the rest of time.’”
This is particularly rich coming from one of the top officials representing a party that just mounted a mass cancellation campaign to push for the firing and punishment of anyone who its devotees felt mourned assassinated MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk insufficiently.
Tl;dr: Hitlergate wasn’t about kids, and JD Vance knows it—or should now.