A leaked Telegram group chat between Republican operatives has provided a chilling glimpse into how racist some of the party’s up-and-coming figures act behind closed doors.
The chat, complete with 251 slurs—including the N-word, “f----t,” and a declaration of love for Hitler—included “Young Republican” leaders from around the United States, reports Politico, which obtained and reviewed thousands of private messages.
The since-resigned vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, Peter Giunta, was described as “the most prominent voice in the chat spreading racist messages.”
Giunta, 31, of Staten Island, repeatedly shared hateful rhetoric against Black people in particular, the report noted.
He is said to have texted “I love Hitler,” referred to Black people as “the watermelon people,” and advised chatmates to “scream the no-no word” if they board a plane and see the pilot is a woman with skin “10 shades darker than someone from Sicily.”
The GOP operative is also accused of responding to someone asking about an NBA game by writing, “I’d go to the zoo if I wanted to watch monkey[s] play ball.”
Politico reported that Giunta texted in June that those voting against him were “going to the gas chamber.”
Giunta was named a “New York City 40 Under 40 Rising Star” by City & State New York in 2019 and, until Tuesday evening, was the chief of staff for New York State Assemblymember Michael Reilly.
Though Reilly’s office did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, SILive.com reported on Thursday evening that Giunta, who has since made his X profile private and deactivated his account on LinkedIn, was fired by Reilly over the alleged texts.
When reached by Politico, Giunta said the leaked texts may have been “doctored” and were part of an intra-party rift between him and the New York City Young Republican Club, a different entity from the chapter he presided over until last month.
“These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to Politico by the very same people conspiring against me,” he said.
Giunta also apologized.
“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,” he said. “While I take complete responsibility, I have had no way of verifying their accuracy and am deeply concerned that the message logs in question may have been deceptively doctored.”
The chat was reportedly created to talk strategy for an upcoming election for chair of the Young Republican National Federation—the party’s organization for Republicans between 18 and 40 years old that has about 15,000 members.
Giunta was running for chair and scored endorsements from top allies of President Donald Trump, including Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik and Roger Stone. Both MAGA figures have since condemned his alleged remarks.
Politico reports that Giunta texted in June that those voting against him for chair were “going to the gas chamber.” Two members in that chat responded with questionable texts of their own.
“Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic,” Joe Maligno, who was the general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, allegedly wrote back, according to Politico.
Annie Kaykaty, New York’s national committee member, allegedly chimed in to say, “I’m ready to watch people burn now.”
Alex deGrasse, a senior adviser for Stefanik, told Politico that the lawmaker “was absolutely appalled to learn about the alleged comments made by leaders of the New York State Young Republicans” and others.
Giunta was far from the only Republican accused of sending racist texts in the chat.
William Hendrix, the Kansas Young Republicans’ vice chair, used the N-word more than a dozen times in the chat with the spelling ending in “ga” and “guh,” Politico reports. Bobby Walker, vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, reportedly referred to rape as “epic.”
Politico reports that Walker texted another chat member in July, “Stay in the closet f----t,” and said that the chairman of the Young Republicans’ national chapter was in the “f----t bunker.”
“My people built the train tracks with the Chinese,” Walker reportedly wrote in the chat at another point, referring to his Italian ancestors.
“Let his people go!” Maligno is said to have responded. “Keep the ch--ks, though.”
Walker apologized in a statement to Politico.
“There is no excuse for the language and tone in messages attributed to me. The language is wrong and hurtful, and I sincerely apologize,” Walker said. “This has been a painful lesson about judgment and trust, and I am committed to moving forward with greater care, respect, and accountability in everything I say and do.”
Walker is said to have acknowledged in the chat how bad it would be if it ever became public.
“If we ever had a leak of this chat, we would be cooked fr fr,” he wrote, according to Politico.
Hendrix, who worked as a communications specialist for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, was fired from his position on Thursday after his remarks were presented to the office, reports The Topeka Capital-Journal and Politico.
The 24-year-old, who unsuccessfully ran for Topeka City Council in 2021, is accused of writing in July, “Bro is in a chicken restaurant ordering his food. Would he like some watermelon and Kool-Aid with that?”
Hendrix is also accused of texting messages that disparaged gay people. Politico reports that he wrote that he was drawn to Missouri’s Young Republican organization because “Missouri doesn’t like f--s.”
Hendrix did not respond to a request for comment from Politico or the Daily Beast.
“We are appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article published today,” a statement posted to social media by the National Young Republicans’ Board of Directors said.
“Such behavior is disgraceful, unbecoming of any Republican, and stands in direct opposition to the values our movement represents.”
The Board called for “those involved” to “immediately resign from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations,” adding, “We must hold ourselves to the highest standards of integrity, respect, and professionalism.”
Not all appeared to be as appalled, however. Vice President JD Vance said he would “refuse to join the pearl clutching” over a “college group chat,” in a post on X, referencing the text scandal surrounding Democratic attorney general nominee for Virginia Jay Jones.
