Asian American lawmakers are condemning racist messages targeting Chinese and Indian Americans found in leaked Telegram chats among Young Republican leaders, part of a trove obtained by Politico earlier this week showing more than 250 slurs and violent rhetoric exchanged over seven months.
Shocking chats: Chinese and Indian Americans were specifically targeted in the 2,900-page Telegram exchanges that occurred between early January and mid-August of this year. In one exchange, Bobby Walker, who at the time was vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans, wrote, “My people built the train tracks with the Chinese,” to which Joe Maligno, who previously identified himself as general counsel for the group, replied, “Let his people go! Keep the chinks, though.” In a separate exchange, when someone mentioned dating “this very obese Indian woman,” Peter Giunta, who at the time chaired the New York State Young Republicans, said the woman “was not Indian,” prompting Vermont State Sen. Samuel Douglass to reply, “She just didn’t bathe often.”
The hate extended well beyond anti-Asian rhetoric. Chat members called Black people “monkeys” and referred to them as “the watermelon people.” Overall, slurs targeting Black people, gay people and those with disabilities appeared more than 251 times. The messages also included violent and extremist language. In June, Giunta wrote that “everyone that votes no is going to the gas chamber” regarding his bid to chair the Young Republican National Federation. He also wrote “I love Hitler,” while other members made additional references to gas chambers and discussed rape and slavery.
What they’re saying: The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) issued a statement saying members were “deeply disgusted by the reported racist, xenophobic and antisemitic messages from conservative youth leaders,” emphasizing that “no community was spared in their hateful tirade, including Chinese and Indian Americans.” The caucus added that “their willingness to engage in such vile rhetoric behind closed doors speaks volumes to their character and the tone set by our nation’s leaders.”
The condemnation extended across Democratic party leadership. On the Senate floor Tuesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer urged Republican leaders including President Donald Trump to issue swift, unequivocal condemnations if the reporting proves accurate. Similarly, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries posted on Instagram that the chat members are “sick people” who must face public exposure and accountability. In sharp contrast, Vice President JD Vance refused to condemn the messages, instead posting on X about what he called “pearl clutching” over political violence while characterizing the exchanges in a briefing as “edgy, offensive jokes” from “kids” doing “stupid things” — despite the fact that chat members were men in their 20s and early 30s holding government positions.
Why this matters: The exchanges show how emerging Republican operatives communicate privately, with many already employed in government or party roles. One participant, according to his LinkedIn profile, works as a senior adviser in the U.S. Small Business Administration’s office of general counsel. Among Asian American communities, the racist language reflects patterns of discrimination that political figures frequently minimize or ignore, and this leaked chat provides documentation of that hostile environment.
Multiple members have since lost positions, with New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly ending Giunta’s employment Tuesday, the New York State Unified Court System parting ways with Maligno on Tuesday and Kansas GOP leadership dissolving the state’s entire Young Republicans chapter this week. Vermont State Sen. Douglass is now facing resignation demands from Republican Gov. Phil Scott and legislative colleagues.
This story is part of The Rebel Yellow Newsletter — a bold weekly newsletter from the creators of NextShark, reclaiming our stories and celebrating Asian American voices.
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