Screenshots of text messages exchanged between Young Republican leaders (Source: Politico)

Bobby Walker, Vice Chair of the New York State Young Republicans, said, “If we ever had a leak of this chat, we would be cooked fr fr.”

Well … I hate to tell you this, but your group chat has been leaked. These words were not just posted on some random website. Instead, they were written by young Republican leaders in a private Telegram group chat. Politico reveals that they reviewed and received over 2,900 pages worth of these text messages. Young Republican leaders from states such as New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont all participated in this group chat. 

In those same messages, these Republicans joked about rape, praised Hitler, called African Americans “monkeys and watermelon people”, and discussed putting their opponents into gas chambers. While the New York GOP has condemned these group chats, it still does not take away the pain that these group chats have caused. 

As a result of these group chats, both the New York State and Kansas Young Republicans have been suspended. Ed Cox, chairman of the New York State Republican Party, said that the “New York State Young Republicans were already grossly mismanaged and that the vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations.”

Bobby Walker and Peter Giunta have both apologized for their actions, but they question whether these text messages are genuine and have not been altered by someone else to make them appear unfavorable. While I can admire them for owning up to their mistakes, by questioning the validity of these messages, they do not actually care about what they did. Instead, they are only apologizing because they got caught. 

If you think that this is just “locker room talk,” think again. These young people are supposed to represent the future of our country, and this leak should make every American furious. It should force us to reflect on what kind of leaders we are raising and whether they understand the responsibility that comes with influence. 

To be honest, I was not surprised when I first read the story. Unfortunately, this is what our country has come to in the current political climate. It has become too easy for hate to hide behind “free speech” or the excuse of  “just having an opinion.” People can say the most racist, sexist, and hateful things imaginable and then shrug it off as a joke. 

It is one thing to have an opinion, and everyone has the right to express how they feel. However, this does not mean that you are going to be free from criticism. Having disagreements about politics or policy is normal, but being racist and homophobic is never okay.

Even worse, some of our leaders are defending this group chat. Vice President JD Vance brushed off the whole situation, saying that “the reality is kids do stupid stuff. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes. Like that is what kids do.” In addition, he says that we need to focus on the “real issues.” This comment made by Vice President Vance is very telling. 

When we regard this behavior as kids “just being stupid,” it sends a clear message to people that age gives people an excuse to hate. However, this can not be the case. Calling it “stupid stuff” does not make it harmless. It normalizes it, no matter which political party these kids decide to affiliate with, going against the values we want future leaders to have.

I have always been told that my generation (Generation Z) is the future of America, but sometimes I wonder if we really are. I believe that there are other group chats like this that have not been exposed yet. We can not just keep pretending this kind of talk is harmless. Words matter! Words shape how we see others, how we vote, and what kind of leaders we choose. I believe we need to expose this type of behavior, whether that is done publicly or privately. 

The America I believe in will not make excuses for hate. It will not look the other way or laugh it off, and it will hold people accountable. If this is what the next generation of leaders looks like, then we have more work to do than we thought. We can not say that my generation is the future until we actually show that we deserve that honor. 

Acknowledgment: The ideas expressed in this article are those of the individual author.