One of the recurring myths that the Republican Party likes to repeat is that racism within their party isn’t a problem, and those who accuse them of it are either liars or “left-wing radicals.” But last week they had to disband the entire New York State Republican organization following a report that revealed hundreds of racist, bigoted and antisemitic remarks in a group chat, including messages that praised Adolf Hitler and joked about slavery. What’s even more alarming about this is the chat wasn’t restricted to New York. There were 251 examples contained in seven months worth of exchanges between adult Young Republican leaders in New York, Vermont, Kansas and Arizona. “They referred to Black people as monkeys or the ‘watermelon people.’ They called rape ‘epic.’ They talked about the love of Hitler,” said Jason Beeferman, New York state politics reporter for Politico.
The damage was so widespread that 62 New York Republican county leaders unanimously voted to suspend the New York State Young Republicans. Nassau County Republican Chairman Joseph Cairo issued a categorical condemnation of the group chat. “Disgraceful, disgusting,” he said. “They should be totally excluded from the Republican Party because they do not represent what the principles or beliefs of our Republican Party are.” Immediately, the organization’s social media profiles and public posts were wiped.
But even more enlightening was the reaction to this from the top of the Trump administration. Vice President JD Vance made light of it all in a post on X, calling it “a college group chat.” “JD Vance thinks it’s a joke, and he blames Democrats for the violence in our communities. It starts at the top,” said Seth Koslow, Democratic candidate for Nassau County Executive. “I have a lot of friends that are Republicans. This is not how they act. This is not how they speak,” Nassau Young Democrats Candidate John Byrnes said.
This revelation is important for three reasons. The first is this rhetoric came from youthful Republicans, supposedly the next generation. These ideas reflect widespread bigotry and hatred within the next group of GOP leaders, a sad indication that the problem isn’t just one limited to older GOP members, but runs throughout the party. The second is these communications were across multiple state lines, indicating that these views represent a national constituency rather than a handful of in-state Republicans talking to each other. The third is the willingness of top Republican leaders to discount or overlook its importance, as though it’s just innocent fun between young people who’ve had too much to drink rather than the views of future party leaders.
The overwhelming bottom line is it’s another warning that racism, bigotry and hatred have become commonplace in too many sectors of the Republican Party. It would be wrong and inaccurate to claim that it has affected everyone, but it’s equally wrong to minimize its impact or maintain it’s only a select handful. These messages were regularly transmitted over seven months, and who knows if these are the only examples of this type of communication or thinking. The report only represents the only examples that have been publicized. They are merely the latest example of the Republican Party’s problems with racist and bigoted thinking infecting their public messages. It will be quite informative and interesting to see what they do from here, because disbanding one state chapter won’t solve a problem that is obviously nationwide.
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