GOP veep nominee and Ohio Sen. JD Vance on Sunday doubled-down on peddling dubious claims about Haitian migrants eating pets, while the Republican governor of his home state decried the assertion.
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance griped during a testy exchange on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast,” he told the news show’s co-host, Dana Bash.
JD Vance elevated the unsubstantiated rumors before last week’s debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. AP
Vance then quickly explained what he meant by creating stories when pressed by Bash.
“We’re creating the American media focusing on it,” Vance said while implying that the press has been glossing over the “suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”
Vance had elevated claims about migrants consuming the pets of locals in Springfield, Ohio, before the ABC News debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Harris.
Springfield has been inundated by an influx of migrants. But local officials there, including Mayor Rob Rue, have denied the allegations that those migrants have been engaged in widespread consumption of residents’ pets.
Ahead of Tuesday’s debate, Trump posted memes espousing the questionable claims.
Then during the verbal sparring match, the controversy exploded when Trump asserted “They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
That remark drew a swift fact check from the moderators, with anchor David Muir noting that city officials claimed there was no evidence of that.
Video mash-ups of Trump’s stunning comments have taken social media by storm.
Vance blasted the fact-checks of his and Trump’s claims as “fake debunkings,” declaring that the basis for the pair’s allegations are accounts from his constituents.
Trump brought up the allegations on the debate stage, exploding the issue into a national controversy. Getty Images
“My constituents have brought approximately a dozen separate concerns to me. Ten of them are verifiable,” Vance insisted.
“I could ignore them, which is what the American media has done for years to this community, or I can actually talk about what people are telling me.”
Amid the uproar, there have been bomb threats that prompted school closures as well as hospital lockdowns in Springfield
“There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals,” Vance said while sparing with Bash. “We condemn it. We condemn all violence and threats of violence.”
Vance ripped into media outlets for scrutinizing the questionable rumors about pet consumption in Springfield. NBC News
Vance recounted how media outlets panned claims that migrants were eating geese from a local park pond but how there was a 911 call reporting that.
Bash responded by noting that the Clark County sheriff and Ohio Department of Natural Resources combed through 911 calls and only found two instances of those accusations.
Last week, Rue underscored to local outlet WSYX that “all these federal politicians that have negatively spun our city, they need to know they’re hurting our city, and it was their words that did it.”
Vance said of Rue, “The Springfield mayor, he’s dealing with a lot of terrible things. I certainly sympathize with the guy, and we’re going to try to help him out.”
In a separate Sunday interview with “NBC’s Meet the Press,” Vance argued that he didn’t invent the pet rumors out of thin air.
“We don’t blame the Haitian migrants for coming to Springfield. We blame Kamala Harris for opening the American southern border and inviting 20,000 people to get dropped in a small Ohio town,” he said.
Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the rumors about pet consumption in Springfield are false. Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Meanwhile, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, who is term-limited ahead of the 2026 gubernatorial election cycle, affirmed that he had not any seen evidence of the pet-consumption rumors.
“No. Absolutely not. That’s what the mayor has said. That’s what the chief of police has said. I think it’s unfortunate that this — this came up,” he told ABC News’ “This Week” Sunday.
“These Haitians came in to work for these companies. What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers. They’re very happy to have them there. And, frankly, that’s helped the economy,” DeWine said.
DeWine stressed that there are issues with the migrant influx into Springfield, including the fact that many of them “have not driven before.”
He gently nudged Trump against indulging in “garbage on the Internet” and decried the “hate groups coming into Springfield.
“I think these discussions about Haitians eating dogs and cats and other things needs to stop,” he said. “We need to focus on moving forward and not dogs and cats being eaten. It’s just ridiculous.”
On Friday, Trump reiterated his view to embark on the “largest deportation in the history of our country” if he prevails in the Nov. 5 election.
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Publish date : 2024-09-15 06:13:00
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