Fact Check: Did JD Vance compare Oval Office banter to Young Republicans' leaked messages?
WASHINGTON, DC: In October 2025, a viral post circulated online claiming that Vice President JD Vance had called Oval Office banter as being worse than leaked messages from the Young Republicans’ Telegram group, which included some violent and sensitive content.
The post quickly went viral, prompting widespread discussions. Here is a report about the factuality of the claims.
Claim: JD Vance wrote on X that Oval Office banter is worse than Young Republicans' leaked messages
The claim appeared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on October 16, with an image claiming to be a real screenshot from the official X handle of the vice president. The post was captioned, “So wait... there is blatant Nazi rhetoric and racism happening in the Oval Office every day? You don't say @JDVance.”
The screenshot reads, “All this pearl clutching over some young men joking around in a private chat! These promising young Republicans shouldn't have their lives ruined over language that is frankly very tame compared to the banter you hear in the Oval Office every day.”
Fact Check: The screenshot is fake, attributed to a Reddit thread
As per the fact-checked report, Vance did not make the post attributed to him on either his government or campaign accounts.
A closer look at the viral image showed that the follow button contained a watermark linking it to a Reddit thread called "totally real tweets," which is known for making such fake posts.
On Reddit, the mentioned "screenshot" could be found under the caption, "JD downplays the severity of Telegram channels".
But a search across the VP’s real account on X showed no entries mentioning "Young Republicans." But one entry mentioning “Young Republicans” did appear on Vance’s campaign account, but it predated the Telegram group chat controversy by more than two years.
The controversial Young Republicans' chats
On October 14, Politico reported on 2,900 pages of leaked Telegram chats, spanning over seven months, from leaders of the Young Republicans in several US states. Many participants worked in government or party politics.
According to the report, the messages reveal a culture where racist, antisemitic, and violent rhetoric circulate freely.
Although the report tries to link the narrative to the shifting political climate in the Trump era, a White House spokesperson dismissed links between the messages and President Donald Trump.
