Vance says Jay Jones’ violent texts worse than Republican group chat leak

Vice President J.D. Vance shrugged off outrage Wednesday from young conservatives over a leaked group chat, arguing that it paled in comparison to the exposed texts of Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones.

Vice President J.D. Vance and President Donald Trump separately criticized Democrats as Virginia attorney general candidate Jones’ campaign continues to unravel over texts predicting the killing of a former top Republican lawmaker and her young children.

Jones, who sent messages claiming he would gladly shoot former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert, will face incumbent Attorney General Jason Miyares in a single debate at the University of Richmond on Thursday.

Vance also tweeted about outrage over a leaked group chat, first reported by Politico, in which young Republican activists, many from New York, sent texts mentioning Adolf Hitler, containing racial slurs and other offensive language, many of which may have been jokes typical of Generation Z’s aggressive and absurdist shock value-based sense of humor and spoke.

VIRGINIA DEM JAY JONES’ FATHERHOOD-THEMED POST RESIGNED PAST TEXTS WANTING TO HARM REPUBLICANS’ CHILDREN

Vance shared a screenshot of a Republican colleague of Jones’ messages in which he hoped his children would die and wrote, “This is far worse than what was said in a college group chat and that the man who said this may have been Virginia’s AG. I refuse to engage in pearl-clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

Vance responded to the incident further on Charlie Kirk’s recent podcast: “An individual who is very politically powerful, who is about to become one of the most powerful law enforcement officers in the country, who seriously calls for political violence and political assassination, no matter how offensive, is 1,000 times worse than what a bunch of teenagers, a bunch of kids, said in a group chat. It’s just the truth.”

He added: “And if you’re allowing yourself to be distracted by this person’s incredible support, disgusting support for political assassination, and focusing on what the kids are saying in the group chat, grow up.”

TRUMP AND VANCE OFFEND DEMOCRATS FOR SUPPORTING VIRGINIA AG CANDIDATE OVER TEXTS FANTASYING MURDER OF GOP REPRESENTATIVES

Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones speaks at an event in Norfolk, Virginia. (Trevor Metcalfe/The Virginian-Pilot/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Vance noted that today’s world is very different from the one he grew up in, a world where one must be extremely careful about coming under scrutiny for offensive jokes: “But the reality is that kids do stupid things, especially young boys, they tell annoying, offensive jokes. I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a kid who tells a stupid joke ends up having their life ruined by making a very offensive, stupid joke.”

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Vice President J.D. Vance argued that young men’s lives should not be ruined for making offensive jokes online. (Alex Brandon, Pool/AP Photo)

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Addressing the phenomenon of cancel culture that has been prevalent in America for years, he argued that it is time to reject such tactics altogether.

“And at some point we’re all going to have to say: ‘Enough with this bullshit. We’re not going to let a 21-year-old’s worst moment in a group chat ruin a kid’s life for the rest of time,'” he said.

Fox News’ Charles Creitz contributed to this report.