AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Republican leaders are responding to a Politico report that exposed racist messages shared by Young Republican organizations in Kansas, New York, Arizona and Vermont. The group chat conversations, which NPR has not independently verified, included slurs against gay people and Black people, as well as references to Nazi and white supremacist ideology. Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service is here to talk about the reactions in his state. Hi, Zane.
ZANE IRWIN, BYLINE: Hello.
CHANG: So let's just start with the Republican Party leaders in Kansas. What have they said in response to all of this?
IRWIN: Well, Kansas GOP leaders were really quick to condemn the comments. They said they don't reflect the beliefs of the Republican Party. As of Tuesday, also the Kansas chapter of the Young Republicans National Federation is inactive. And one of its members has actually been fired from the Kansas attorney general's office over this. I will say another wrinkle in the reaction in Kansas was from Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. She says the state Republican Party kind of set a poor example on this for its young members. For example, the party posted edited photos of her on Facebook in a mustache and a sombrero, with a caption that says she wants to give food assistance to immigrants who lack full legal status. So this report is already stirring up broader conversations in Kansas.
CHANG: Clearly. OK, so we are hearing explicit criticism from Kansas Republicans of these group chat messages. But I am wondering, how does that response compare to reaction from Republicans outside of Kansas?
IRWIN: You know, for the most part, it's been the same - condemnation. The national Young Republicans group called on those involved to resign. But there's one notable exception. Vice President JD Vance went on "The Charlie Kirk Show" to kind of downplay how serious these revelations were. Here's him talking about it.
(SOUNDBITE OF PODCAST, "THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOW")
JD VANCE: 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.
IRWIN: Vance is referring to kids in that clip...
CHANG: Yeah.
IRWIN: ...But I want to be clear - remember, these are adult men in their mid- to late 20s, and they hold positions of power in state and local government.
CHANG: So we're talking about adults. OK, so what do you think all of this says - this whole episode? What do you think it says about what's considered acceptable speech in politics today?
IRWIN: You know, there's been a lot of whataboutism (ph) kind of going around in this regard. Republicans have cited this counter example where a Democratic candidate for Virginia attorney general sent texts three years ago that promoted political violence against then-Virginia Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert and his children. But this kind of rhetoric doesn't come from nowhere. I think some of the ideas in the chat echoed what some national Republican figures have said also. Early in the second Trump administration, for example, when a member of DOGE was found to have made racist remarks, Vance defended him then, too. He said, quote, "I don't think stupid social media activity should ruin a kid's life." And President Trump backed him up on that.
CHANG: That is Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service. Thank you very much, Zane.
IRWIN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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