Jewish Dems Call on GOP Leadership to Condemn Antisemitic, Bigoted Rhetoric of Young Republican Leaders

WASHINGTON — After Politico revealed nearly thirty thousand bigoted messages from leaders in Young Republicans, including antisemitic, racist, and homophobic rhetoric, Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA), released the following statement:

“The messages leaked in Politico may have originated in a private group chat, but they confirm what we’ve long known: the Republican Party has an antisemitism problem. Republicans like to talk about fighting antisemitism, but in the comfort of a group chat, their young leaders say ‘I love Hitler’ and joke about sending people “to the gas chamber.” These vile messages – which span seven months of conversation between Young Republican leaders in New York, Kansas, Arizona and Vermont – provide a glimpse into the hateful rhetoric that is used, accepted, and tolerated by members of the GOP, including at least one Trump administration official on the chain.

“As the leaders of their party, President Trump, Speaker Johnson, and Senator Thune must immediately condemn this rhetoric and take meaningful action to reverse the trend of antisemitism and bigotry that has festered in the GOP. The Republican Party, led by President Trump, has normalized and given a permission structure for hate speech, which is painfully evident by this text chain.

“President Trump’s FBI Director compared the ADL to a ‘terrorist organization,’ his HHS Secretary trafficked in antisemitic lies about Jews and COVID-19 , while his lead spokesperson at the Pentagon frequently spread antisemitic conspiracy theories. One of Trump’s biggest supporters, Tucker Carlson, hosted a Holocaust denier and spread a blood libel, while President Trump himself regularly disparages Jewish Americans who don’t vote for him, accusing us of hating our religion and Israel. 

“Donald Trump’s progress in Israel doesn’t negate his actions here in the United States. While he feigns concern about antisemitism and exploits its rise to defund universities, he has not denounced this hateful rhetoric used by members of his party.”

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