Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine on Friday criticized former President Donald Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, for repeating a right-wing racist claim that Haitian immigrants were eating residents’ pets in the Ohio city of Springfield.
The conspiracy theories have caused a furor and led to a wave of threats and harassment.
In an op-ed published in The New York Times on Friday, Governor DeWine said it was “disappointing” that Springfield had “become the epicenter of a firestorm over America’s immigration policy,” and accused Trump and Vance in particular of spreading disinformation.
“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator J.D. Vance, I am saddened that they and others continue to disparage legal immigrants living in Springfield and repeat claims that lack evidence,” DeWine wrote. “Such rhetoric harms our city and the people who live there and have spent their lives there.”
DeWine said Trump and Vance were raising important questions about “the Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border.”
“But their verbal attacks against Haitians who are in the United States legally undermine and cloud what should be a winning argument on the border,” added the governor, who said he was born in Springfield.
Governor DeWine’s comments received mixed reactions from leading Ohio Democrats.
As the outrage against Haitian immigrants continues in Springfield, some have supported DeWine’s essay, including Ohio State House Minority Whip Allison Russo, who praised DeWine’s essay in a post on X.
“I commend (Governor DeWine) for writing a fair and very thoughtful editorial about (Springfield, Ohio) and the Haitian immigrants working hard to build a future there,” she wrote.
Meanwhile, Ohio Sen. Nicky Antonio told the Guardian that while she agreed with DeWine’s essay, she was “disappointed” that he was still endorsing Trump and Vance in the 2024 presidential election.
“The governor’s overall omission (from the essay) is that Trump and J.D. Vance started all of this in the first place and they’re continuing it, and I think that’s a great thing,” Antonio said.
“They continue their tirade of inciting violence, hatred and discrimination against those who lawfully reside in our country, state and communities.”
Antonio added that DeWine is an “upstanding, decent guy” who has done good things for Ohio, but added, “I don’t believe that at this point in time any reasonable person can put partisanship above decency and a sense of the common good, because there is none of that in these comments.”
Trump said Wednesday he plans to visit Springfield “within the next two weeks.”
Both Governor DeWine and Springfield Mayor Rob Lew, a Republican, opposed such a visit, citing safety concerns.
“A former president’s visit would undoubtedly put additional strain on our security infrastructure,” Lew said at a news conference Thursday. “If he chooses to change his plans, it would send an important message of peace to the city of Springfield.”
Governor DeWine previously questioned rumors of dehumanization targeting Haitian immigrants in Springfield.
Governor DeWine said in an interview with CBS News last week that the rumor started on the Internet, but “the Internet can get pretty crazy sometimes.”
DeWine added, “Mayor (Rob) Lew of Springfield says, ‘No, that’s not true.’ They have absolutely no evidence of that. So I think we’ll just have to take what the mayor says. He knows his city.”
Meanwhile, the Springfield school received more than 30 bomb threats after the incendiary rumor made national news, there was no evidence to back up the rumor, and President Trump brought up the topic during a debate with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Governor DeWine then deployed the Ohio Highway Patrol to provide security.
“The bomb threats (all hoaxes) continue, at least two schools have been temporarily closed, hospitals have been put on lockdown and city hall has been closed,” he wrote.
