JD Vance epitomizes the GOP’s move from morals to whataboutism

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/15/politics/jd-vance-young-republicans-texts-analysis

Pointing to recently disclosed violent messages from Democratic Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones, Vance basically argued Republicans should hold their tongues.

“This is far worse than anything said in a college group chat, and the guy who said it could become the AG of Virginia,” Vance wrote on X. “I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

It’s hard to find a better epitome of the MAGA movement’s evolution on hateful rhetoric. The moral high ground is out; whataboutism is very much in.

It’s a remarkable entry in the GOP’s long-running shift toward a no-apologies approach to politics. The attitude seems to be that as long as the other side is perceived as worse, the GOP shouldn’t bother with policing its own.