Top New York Republicans on Friday shut down the state’s Young Republicans chapter after a report revealed leaders in a private group chat praised Adolf Hitler, joked about slavery and rape, and used racist and antisemitic language.
Why It Matters
The decision to suspend the New York State Young Republicans comes at a time of heightened scrutiny over political rhetoric and internal party discipline. The leaks, first reported by Politico, involved leaders from multiple states and have triggered nationwide calls for resignations, forcing the party to confront its responsibility for enforcing standards and the impact of inflammatory language on the broader political culture. This development also comes on the heels of highly publicized violence in American politics, including the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, further fueling concerns over the tone and conduct of rising political figures.
Young Republicans Group Chat Leak: What We Know
In mid-October 2025, Politico published over 2,900 pages of leaked Telegram chats involving a dozen leaders from Young Republican groups in New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont, covering seven months of conversation. The logs documented repeated racist and antisemitic remarks, references to gas chambers and slavery, praise for Adolf Hitler, and misogynistic comments.
Key individuals named include Peter Giunta (NY), Bobby Walker (NY), Joe Maligno (NY), Alex Dwyer (KS), William Hendrix (KS), Annie Kaykaty (NY), Luke Mosiman (AZ), and Samuel and Brianna Douglass (VT). Employment consequences swiftly followed; for instance, Giunta was dismissed from his role as chief of staff to a New York assemblyman, and Walker was terminated from a congressional campaign.
The New York State GOP Executive Committee then voted unanimously to revoke the Young Republicans’ charter on October 17, 2025, citing mismanagement and condemning the language as unacceptable in the party or its affiliates.
What Did JD Vance Say About the Young Republicans Group Chat?
Vice President JD Vance responded to the scandal by distinguishing the Young Republican messages from other recent political controversies, suggesting that media outrage was selective. “The reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially young boys, they tell edgy, offensive jokes, like 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,” Vance said during an appearance on The Charlie Kirk Show. Vance also compared the incident to inflammatory remarks from Democratic candidates, questioning the consistency of political and media condemnation.
Some Republicans and Democrats criticized Vance’s response for excusing or downplaying the nature of the chat messages. Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma said: “I would never let my kids joke like that. That’s a solid no.”
Who is Peter Giunta and How Did He Respond to the Leak?
Peter Giunta, former chair of the New York State Young Republicans and chief of staff to New York Assemblyman Mike Reilly, was one of the most senior figures implicated in the messages. Giunta made a joke about political opponents “going to the gas chamber” and expressed support for members who joked about slavery.
In a statement given to Politico, Giunta apologized “to those offended by the insensitive and inexcusable language found,” but claimed, “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, who had served as chief of staff to GOP Assemblymember Mike Reilly, is no longer employed in that role following the report, according to Politico.
What People Are Saying
GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement issued after a virtual meeting of party leaders: “Today, the Executive Committee of the New York Republican State Committee unanimously voted to suspend authorization of the New York State Young Republicans following a report of a group chat that included racist and antisemitic language on the part of leadership.
“The Young Republicans was already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations,” Cox said.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, upon news of the leaks: “This isn’t one person saying they love Hitler. It’s a whole lot of people saying things that are so disgusting and so abhorrent that everyone from the president on down should condemn them.
“There’s got to be consequences. Kick them out of the party. Take away their official roles. Stop using them as campaign advisers. This bull**** has to stop,” she added.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, on X after hearing about the leaks: “This is some vile stuff. And these aren’t teenagers. Many are Republican staffers. At least one works for Trump.”
One of those involved in the chats, Peter Giunta—chief of staff to New York State Assemblyman Mike Reilly—and also chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time of the chats, said: “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 Republicans.”
Politico reported White House spokesperson Liz Huston, rejecting the idea that Trump’s rhetoric had anything to do with the chat members’ language: “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. No one has been subjected to more vicious rhetoric and violence than President Trump and his supporters.”