JD Vance’s Selective Forgiveness: Who Gets to Be “Foolish” in America?

It’s hard not to see the irony in JD Vance brushing off the young Republicans’ offensive online posts as nothing serious.

Appearing on The Charlie Kirk Show, Vance defended them by saying:

“The truth is that young people often act foolishly, particularly young males. They often share edgy, provocative jokes; that’s just how kids behave. We cannot permit the most regrettable moment in a 21-year-old’s private conversation to dictate the course of their life.”

The problem is, these weren’t “kids” at all. Many of the men involved were in their thirties, and one was forty. One even serves as communications director for a sitting U.S. senator. Vance’s excuse — that this was simply youthful mischief — rings hollow given their age, status, and professional influence.

A Double Standard in Plain Sight

What makes Vance’s defense so striking is how differently this administration has treated others who expressed controversial opinions.

College students have been detained or deported for their support of Gaza or for joining peaceful protests. International students have lost their visas simply for posting views that the government deemed “anti-American” or too critical of U.S. foreign policy.

In those cases, youthful “foolishness” didn’t earn sympathy — it earned punishment.

And then there are the workers and journalists who have lost their jobs over a single tweet or offhand comment deemed “unpatriotic.” Some were fired after criticizing figures like Charlie Kirk, a move Vance himself publicly supported. He called on employers to take action against those who voiced anger or grief in ways conservatives found offensive.

Who Gets Grace — and Who Gets the Guillotine

The contrast is unmistakable.
For Vance, some people — often those aligned with his politics — are just immature and deserving of forgiveness. Others — especially those who dissent — are irredeemable and deserving of ruin.

It’s a moral hierarchy disguised as empathy: compassion for the powerful, condemnation for the powerless.

What Vance calls “forgiveness” isn’t a principle; it’s a privilege. It’s an exemption reserved for people whose ideology mirrors his own.

The Bigger Picture

In another time, a senator defending grown men in positions of authority for sharing racist or extremist jokes might have faced bipartisan outrage. Today, it’s waved away as boys-being-boys banter — even when the “boys” are pushing forty and shaping political messaging from inside the Capitol.

Meanwhile, twenty-year-olds are losing their futures for holding a protest sign.

That’s not equal justice. It’s selective morality — a reflection of what America has too often been: a place where accountability depends less on what you did and more on who you are and whom you serve.

Forgiveness Shouldn’t Be Partisan

If JD Vance truly believes in mercy, he should extend it to everyone — not just those inside his political tent. Because when power starts deciding who deserves redemption and who deserves exile, it’s not morality at work. It’s control.