Washington DC - Vice President JD Vance refused to condemn a Republican youth group after its members were revealed to have sent violently racist and fascistic messages.

Vance used an appearance on a new episode of the Charlie Kirk Show, which has been run by colleagues of the late far-right activist, to downplay the shocking revelations of a Young Republicans group chat which included messages such as "I love Hitler," as well as a barrage of hateful slurs and violent fantasies.

"The reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys," Vance said, despite the fact that some of the worst offenders in the group chat are adults.

"They tell edgy, offensive jokes. That's what kids do," he continued. "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."

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Vance then went on to scold Democrats and his political opponents for giving too much attention to "what a bunch of young people, a bunch of kids, say in a group chat, however offensive."

He also offered some helpful advice on how to avoid being caught: "If you put something in a group chat, assume that some scumbag is going to leak it in an effort to try to cause you harm."

In contrast to his casual treatment of the Young Republicans chat group, Vance has been at the forefront of a crackdown on any and all reactions to Charlie Kirk's killing that he considers insufficiently deferential or in bad taste.