A Georgia Republican was shamed as a Nazi "apologist" for downplaying the hateful slurs and other offensive remarks revealed in a Young Republicans group chat.
The organization's leadership praised Adolf Hitler, joked about putting their political opponents in gas chamber, referred to Black people as monkeys and “watermelon people," celebrated slavery and talked about raping their enemies, according to leaked Telegram chats published by Politico, but Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) justified their hateful language.
"I don't care about some group chat," Collins posted on X, accompanied by a photo of slain nursing student Laken Riley.
The 22-year-old's murder by an undocumented Venezuelan national inspired the Republican-passed Laken Riley Act, which requires detention without bond for any non-citizen arrested for certain crimes and allows states to sue the Department of Homeland Security for alleged failures in immigration enforcement.
Critics lambasted the Republican congressman, who's locked in a tight three-way GOP race for U.S. Senate, for using the young woman's murder to justify the contents of the group chat involving congressional staffers and other government employees.
"Perhaps because you're a racist," suggested journalist John Harwood.
"You mean the one where Republicans were attacking dirty Jews and joking about the Holocaust, showers and genocide?" said Jay Bookman, columnist for the Georgia Recorder.
"Another Hitler and gas chamber apologist," chided Olga Lautman, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. "Republicans yet again show Americans who they are."
"So because Laken Riley was tragically murdered, it's ok for Republicans to be racists who say they like Hitler in private conversations?" asked X user Gaeten Dugas. "Am I following the logic correctly here?"
"You're dragging a young girl's death into a discussion in order to justify that group chat?" added X user Annie_Bannany. "Jesus, man, take a long look in the mirror."
"Perhaps you should," said Randy Page, executive vice president for the faith advocacy group Palmetto Family. "There was a time when the conservative movement had leaders who called others out for such moral rot and decay."
"That group chat/slate are full of disgusting people!" added Andre Stafford, vice chair of communications and information for Cobb County GOP. "I’m proud Cobb and Atlanta Young Republicans didn’t not endorse these people!"
"I’ve been MAGA since 2015 and I’m ready to vote blue for the first time in my life at the mid-terms in protest of my parties lack of principles and moral clarity, and mostly for this idiotic argument that racism on our side is fine because an illegal immigrant killed a little girl/a candidate in VA wrote a 'worse' text, etc.," posted X user MEHP1219. "I’m disgusted."