Vice President JD Vance was photographed in the Oval Office on October 9 as President Donald Trump hosted Finnish President Alexander Stubb—a relatively ordinary scene in Washington. But within hours, Vance would find himself at the center of a growing moral and political controversy that exposed a deep shift in today’s Republican Party.

Earlier this week, Politico revealed an alarming collection of private Telegram messages exchanged by members of various Young Republican groups across the country. The leaked conversations contained racist slurs, praise for Adolf Hitler, violent sexual threats, and explicit calls for political violence. The messages were appalling by any standard.

At first, the Republican response seemed straightforward. A number of GOP officials moved quickly to condemn the hateful exchange. Local party organizations launched investigations, and several individuals were reportedly removed from their positions. Even Roger Stone, a longtime Trump political ally known for his bare-knuckle style, said he condemned the comments “in the strongest possible terms.”

But then JD Vance broke from the chorus of disapproval—and shifted the entire tone of the Republican response.

Instead of denouncing the Young Republicans’ messages, Vance dismissed the outrage, accusing critics of hypocrisy. On X (formerly Twitter), he compared the scandal to a separate case involving Democratic candidate Jay Jones, who once sent messages suggesting violence against a GOP leader. Vance argued that if Democrats weren’t apologizing for Jones, Republicans should also stay silent.

“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat,” Vance wrote. “I refuse to join the pearl-clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

This argument marks a dramatic departure from traditional conservative rhetoric, and it perfectly illustrates the evolution of MAGA politics. Condemnation has given way to deflection. The moral high ground has been replaced by whataboutism. And few embody this new strategy more clearly than JD Vance.

Downplaying Hate

In a follow-up appearance on “The Charlie Kirk Show”, Vance repeatedly referred to those who sent the messages as “kids making offensive jokes.” But that claim falls apart under scrutiny. The Young Republicans involved are not college students—they range from ages 18 to 40. One is an elected state lawmaker, another works inside the Trump administration, and several others are well-known Republican activists. These are not teenagers making reckless comments. These are adults operating inside conservative politics.

And the messages weren’t merely “jokes.” According to Politico, members wrote things like “I love Hitler,” used racial slurs to describe Black athletes, advocated rape, and suggested putting political opponents in gas chambers. Despite this, Vance refused to condemn the group.

Hypocrisy on Full Display

What makes Vance’s stance even more striking is that he once argued against exactly this kind of political tribalism. After the deadly Charlottesville white supremacist rally in 2017, Vance demanded that conservatives speak out clearly against racism. He said “whataboutism”—deflecting criticism by pointing to flaws on the other side—was a moral failure.

“Unfortunately, in this country, we’re suffering from a real problem of whataboutism,” Vance said at the time. “We need to point at evil and name it.”

Eight years later, he is now doing precisely what he used to criticize—shielding his own political side from accountability by pointing fingers elsewhere.

A New Rule in the GOP: Never Criticize Your Own

Vance’s message is clear: as long as Democrats do bad things, Republicans should never apologize or purge extremists in their ranks. The goal isn’t moral leadership anymore. The goal is winning—even if it means tolerating extremist rhetoric, racism, or violence inside the movement.

This shift didn’t start with Vance, but he has become its loudest defender inside the GOP establishment. Figures like him are giving permission for far-right extremism to grow unchecked among younger conservatives—what columnist David French once called “the lost boys of the American right.”

And if this attitude continues to spread, the consequences for American politics will be dire. Instead of calling out hatred and extremism, we may be entering a new era where loyalty to tribe is valued more than morality—and where silence in the face of bigotry becomes party policy.