Not Funny: Why the GOP Can’t Excuse Antisemitism as a “Joke”
Disturbing messages from Young Republican leaders reveal casual antisemitism, while Vice President Vance calls them ‘stupid jokes.’
The Jewish holiday marathon finally came to a conclusion last night. Sadly, returning online means facing news that’s as horrifying as it is unacceptable.
A leaked chat among members of the Young Republican National Federation (YRNF) has exposed months of antisemitic, racist, and violent rhetoric exchanged by young leaders in state chapters across New York, Kansas, Arizona, and Vermont. The messages referenced Hitler, gas chambers, and white supremacist codes like “1488.” They also mocked rape victims, denigrated Black Americans and other minorities, and casually tossed around violent imagery.
And before anyone rushes to the “it’s just kids joking” defense—yes, the Vice President of the United States has, in fact, said precisely that. On The Charlie Kirk Show, JD Vance told his audience:
“The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys. They tell edgy, offensive jokes. 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.”
Let that sink in. The #2 elected official in the country is defending jokes about genocide, antisemitism, and sexual violence as “stupid things” that kids do. This isn’t a playground spat or a slip of the tongue. These are adults, many in positions of leadership or grooming for future leadership, normalizing hatred. And the Vice President is shrugging it off.
And yet, there’s a bitter irony here. While the administration publicly chastises colleges and universities for being “weak on antisemitism,” right-wing antisemitism inside the political apparatus itself often receives a free pass. Figures like Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson, along with others across the political spectrum, exemplify this troubling double standard: hateful rhetoric from the right is excused or minimized, while institutions accused of not doing enough to protect Jewish students are put under the microscope. This selective outrage sends a clear message: some forms of antisemitism are more politically tolerable than others.
Let’s be clear: joking about gas chambers, Hitler, or the racial and sexual violence of our society is almost never funny. There are rare exceptions—like Mel Brooks’ The Producers, which satirizes the absurdity of Nazism—but these messages were not thoughtful satire. They were casual, hateful, and reckless. This is not edgy humor; it is a warning sign—a window into the values, or lack thereof, being taught to the next generation of political leaders.
Some Republicans, including Rep. Elise Stefanik, have condemned the remarks, which is a start. But “condemning” is not enough. The fact that these messages circulated for months, unchecked, in a group dedicated to training young political leaders, reveals a culture that tolerates cruelty and celebrates audacity over decency. And when our nation’s leadership dismisses the issue as “kids doing stupid things,” that culture gets a green light to continue.
This is about more than private chatrooms. It’s about accountability—and the failure of party leaders to provide it. Humor cannot excuse hatred. Power cannot excuse indifference. And a political party cannot claim to uphold American values while excusing antisemitism, racism, and misogyny among those it elevates.
The Young Republicans may be young, but the consequences of their words are real. And so are the responsibilities of those guiding them. Every politician, every voter, every citizen who believes in basic decency needs to understand this: downplaying antisemitism is not a harmless defense. It is a moral choice. And it is a choice with consequences.
The question now is simple: will the GOP confront the hate within its ranks, or will it continue to treat genocide, racism, and misogyny as “stupid jokes”? History, and our moral compass, demand an answer.