Commentary by Bill McGuire
Young Republicans. Now there's a phrase to conjure up an image: Blue blazers, club neckties, earnest haircuts. Junior Chamber of Commerce, sober conservatism, future pillars of their communities. Well, not anymore. They're a different sort of organization now, judging by recent behavior.
At the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally in 2017 that featured white supremacists, neo-Nazis, KKKers, and one violent death, Young Republican National Federation (their full official name) leaders were in attendance as well. They included the president of the Washington State University Republicans and the photogenic young fellow from the University of Nevada who went viral with his tiki torch. And at the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, where rioters were sent in an attempt to block the Electoral College certification, Young Republicans were there, too. The arrests included officers of the Oregon, Miami, Binghamton University, and North Dakota organizations.
In October 2025, a 2,800-page Young Republican group chat on Telegram leaked out, revealing racist and antisemitic rants, praise for Hitler and gas chambers, laudatory remarks about slavery, and an endorsement of rape. Those hatefully speaking their minds included former and current heads of Young Republican groups in New York, Arizona, Kansas, and Vermont. Senior GOP politicians rushed out to condemn the texts and label the young offenders as outliers, but then, as if on cue, an equally offensive group chat in Miami was exposed.
And then there's Charlie Kirk, the late cofounder of Turning Point USA and to many conservatives, the young lion of the movement and their hope for reaching the coming generation. Kirk made his name on the campus circuit debating right-wing politics with college freshmen, sometimes winning, and in his podcasts, where he elevated race-baiting to a fine art. There, he also called for a return to public executions, preferably by firing squad or guillotine, with corporate sponsorship if possible and children required to watch. Another time, he called for the imprisonment and execution of then-President Joe Biden "for his crimes against America."
Sure, one could say these crazy kids aren't representative; they're just a few bad apples. But the old adage is often misunderstood: A few bad apples do in fact spoil the whole barrel. That's how rot works. This isn't the rank and file of the movement but its leadership. If young people like these are the future of the Republican Party, America is in for a bumpy ride.
McGuire is a contributing pundit for The Hustings where he writes for the left column.