‘Disgusting’: racist, homophobic, antisemitic, and violent private chats of GOP leaders exposed
Jon
Queally for Common Dreams
Is this who they are when not in view of public judgment or
recrimination?
That is just one of the questions being widely asked
after Politico on Tuesday revealed nearly seven months of
grotesque private chats between members of Leaders of Young Republicans, the
party’s batch of up-and-comers, though already in positions of power within the
faction’s ranks.
From praising Adolf Hitler to casual use of racial slurs and
calls for violence against their opponents, the Telegram chat logs obtained by Politico paint a picture
of vile individuals who share a deep loyalty to President Donald Trump and
reveled in sadistic contempt for their political enemies, hatred of minorities,
and lust for power.
As Politico reports,
They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon
people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They
talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded
Republicans who they believed support slavery.
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.”
Reaction to the leaked private messages was swift and full
of contempt, if not shock.
“Welcome to Trump’s Republican Party,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
in response to the reporting. “Disgusting.”
“Racism, rape, homophobia, antisemitism … Are we greater
yet?” asked Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership
Conference on Civil Rights. “Feel safer?”
According to Politico, “the messages reveal a
culture where racist, antisemitic and violent rhetoric circulate freely—and
where the Trump-era loosening of political norms has made such talk feel less
taboo among those positioning themselves as the party’s next leaders.”