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Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance on Sunday repeated the false claim that Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of Springfield, Ohio residents.
Asked to back up his claims in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” by Dana Bash, Vance did not offer any evidence but pointed to first-hand testimony from constituents who had told him this was happening.
“The American media completely ignored all of this until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to craft a story that gets the American media to actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then I will,” the Ohio senator said.
“I just told you this is a story you made up,” Bash replied.
“This is direct testimony from my constituents,” Vance said. “When I say we’re crafting the narrative, I mean we’re crafting the American media that’s going to focus on it. I didn’t craft that Kamala Harris’ policies led to 20,000 illegal immigrants coming into Springfield. Her policies did. But certainly, we created the focus so the American media can tell this narrative and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”
Springfield mayor: ‘No verifiable claims’ that Haitian immigrants eat pets
On its city website, Springfield says about 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in Clark County and that the Haitian immigrants are there legally as part of a parole program that allows citizens and legal residents to apply to bring family members from Haiti to the U.S.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, firmly denied the rumors on Sunday and praised the positive impact immigrants have had on the community.
“No, absolutely not,” DeWine said on ABC’s “This Week” when asked if he’d seen any evidence of migrants eating pets.
“But I’ll tell you what we know. What we know is that the Haitians in Springfield are legal,” the governor said. “They came to Springfield to work.”
Vance said Tuesday that the claims about Haitian immigrants may not be true, but encouraged his followers to keep posting “cat memes.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Lew said Sunday that the city is going through “a very difficult time,” adding that the politicians who spread the apparently unfounded rumors “will understand the weight of their words.” The mayor said that city officials, including city commissioners, have received threats for the past three days in a row.
“We’ve got a very bright spotlight on us, and it’s obscuring some of the things we should actually be focusing on, and that’s certainly difficult,” the mayor told Bash on “State of the Union,” adding, “We’re concerned about the safety of our community and that’s what we’re focused on right now.”
Springfield City Hall was forced to close Thursday due to a bomb threat. The Springfield City School District announced that two elementary schools were evacuated on Friday based on information it received from the Springfield Police Department. Two local hospitals were also forced to close Saturday due to bomb threats, according to a statement sent to CNN.
Vance denied that his comments led to the bomb threats.
A Springfield father accuses J.D. Vance of politicizing his son’s death. Hear Vance’s response.
“Nothing I’ve said would lead to any threats or bomb threats against these hospitals or any of these hospitals,” Vance said.
“The mayor of Springfield is dealing with a lot of terrible issues. I certainly sympathize with him and we’re going to try to help him. But he’s not accusing me of instigating the bomb threats. I just didn’t do that,” Vance said later in the interview.
“All I’ve done is bring to the surface the frustrations of my constituents who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’ policies. Are we not allowed to talk about these issues because a few psychopaths are threatening violence?” he added.
Lew said he had not been contacted directly by Vance and that was “fine,” but that the congressman and others spreading rumors should know Springfield officials were telling the truth.
Governor DeWine acknowledged that the city of Springfield has had problems adjusting to an influx of Haitian immigrants through a federal immigration program, but said officials are working to solve the problems.
“When you go from a population of 58,000 to an increase of 15,000 people, that’s going to create some challenges and some problems,” the Ohio governor said in an interview with ABC. “And we’re addressing those. We’re addressing those every day.”
Vance said he has heard these concerns directly from constituents, specifically addressing concerns about geese.
“My constituents have communicated roughly 12 separate concerns to me, 10 of which are verifiable and can be confirmed. I’m speaking to two of them because constituents are telling me directly that they are witnessing these things. So I have two choices: I can ignore them, Dana, which is what the American media has been doing to this community for years. Or I can actually speak about what people are communicating to me,” Vance said.
“My stance is I listen to my constituents. Sometimes they’ll say things that people don’t like, but it’s because their town is in turmoil. It’s my job to fight for my constituents and protect them,” Vance said.
This story has been updated with additional developments.