What do a Nazi meme dump, a Trump rally selfie, and a Republican meltdown have in common? Apparently, everything.
A Trump-appointed State Department staffer is now caught in the middle of a massive internal feud rocking the GOP’s youngest circle — reportedly sparked by a petty grudge over being excluded from a photo with Donald Trump.
Gavin Wax, who once led the New York Young Republican Club and now serves as chief of staff in the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy, is being accused of leaking hundreds of offensive, racist, and misogynistic messages from a private Telegram chat among “Young Republican” figures. The leak exposed 251 vile slurs, including the N-word, F-slur, and shocking fascist lines such as “I love Hitler.”
But here’s the twist: Wax was never even in that group chat. Sources speaking to The Daily Beast allege that Wax somehow obtained the chat logs and leaked them to Politico to get revenge on Peter Giunta — another Trump loyalist and former head of the New York State Young Republicans — after being excluded from a Trump photo-op nearly two years ago.
A source close to Giunta described the situation as stemming from “a miscommunication” that kept Wax out of the picture. Ever since then, Wax reportedly held a grudge.
“It’s just stupidity at this point,” one insider said. “It’s a race, a race to see who destroys who first. And it’s just really disgusting.”
The chat logs themselves are equally disturbing. Giunta, identified in reports as “the most prominent voice” in the group, allegedly made comments like “I love Hitler,” called Black people “the watermelon people,” and told others to “scream the no-no word” if they saw a Black woman flying their plane.
Giunta, who has not denied the allegations outright, instead accused Wax of orchestrating a campaign to ruin him.
“These logs were sourced by way of extortion and provided to Politico by the very same people conspiring against me,” Giunta said. “What’s most disheartening is that, despite my unwavering support of President Trump since 2016, rouge [sic] members of his administration—including Gavin Wax—have participated in this conspiracy to ruin me publicly simply because I challenged them privately.”
A source close to Giunta also claimed the White House had confronted Wax three times over the alleged leak before Politico published the story. Wax denied being involved.
Wax has stayed silent publicly, though his allies insist he’s being scapegoated in a wider internal feud. They claim the leaks came from multiple sources, but Wax has become the “convenient fall guy.” Still, the backlash inside conservative circles has been fierce.
A Republican strategist named Aidan lashed out at Wax on X (formerly Twitter), saying the White House “has proof that Gavin planted the story” and calling it “a political hit job.”
“I can’t express how disappointed I am that someone I thought was friendly and loyal did this to our friends and his friends,” he wrote. “And the president. And the country. Not only was it selfish, it was malicious and stupid.”
Former GOP State Rep. Chris Lonsdale chimed in as well, declaring that Wax “should not be trusted in the Administration or Republican Politics.”
Far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos poured more fuel on the fire, accusing Wax of threatening another Trump staffer, Michael Bartels, to gain access to the chat logs.
“This goes far beyond cowardice. Wax, it appears, worked extensively with hostile media to destroy the reputations of a number of fellow conservatives,” Milo said. “He was not protected by the White House when the White House had the opportunity to do so.” Others have defended Wax.
Raheem Kassam, a former Breitbart editor and close ally of Steve Bannon, wrote on X, “It wasn’t Gavin. I’m not ratting on anyone. But it wasn’t Gavin.” His post was viewed over 300,000 times.
Despite all this infighting, the most shocking part might be how some Republicans seem angrier about the leak than the horrifying messages themselves.
When Kansas gubernatorial candidate Vicki Schmidt demanded two Young Republican leaders resign after their racist comments surfaced, she faced a barrage of online abuse. Aidan, one of Giunta’s allies, told her: “Have fun being another stupid b**ch that ran for governor and lost.”
The Young Republican National Federation, which represents around 15,000 members nationwide, condemned the chat logs and called for resignations. But that didn’t sit well with everyone.
Vice President JD Vance refused to condemn the remarks, defending those caught up in the scandal instead.
“I refuse to join the pearl clutching,” Vance wrote on X. “Most of… the stupid things that I did as a teenager and as a young adult, they’re not on the internet.” Both Giunta and Wax are 31 years old.
Meanwhile, the State Department confirmed that it has recently revoked certain visas due to inflammatory comments made after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk — a stark reminder of how online rhetoric can spiral into serious real-world consequences.
What began as a petty grudge over a missed Trump photo has now exploded into a full-blown civil war within the Republican youth movement. Instead of focusing on policy, the party’s next generation is tearing itself apart — all while Nazi memes, racist jokes, and fascist slurs fester at the center of it all.
As one insider put it: “It’s a race to see who destroys who first.”
