J.D. Vance tripled down on his debunked claims that Haitian immigrants are killing and eating local pets in Springfield, Ohio, while also admitting, “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.”
Vance has spread unsubstantiated rumors about immigrants in his home state of Ohio, rumors that Donald Trump parroted during Tuesday night’s presidential debate. As a result, hospitals, elementary and middle schools, and universities in the area have experienced threats of violence, forcing closures and evacuations.
CNN’s Dana Bash confronted Vance about his claims about pet eating, which were spread earlier by neo-Nazis online. “Can you affirmatively say now that that is a rumor that has no basis with evidence?” she asked him during an interview Sunday on State of the Union.
“Dana, the evidence is the firsthand account of my constituents who are telling me that this happened… The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said.
“But it wasn’t just a meme, sir,” Bash countered.
“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,” Vance spat back.
“You just said that this is a story that you created,” Bash said. “So, the eating dogs and cats thing is not accurate.”
“We are creating — we are — Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents,” Vance said, backpedaling. “I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield, thanks to Kamala Harris’ policies. Her policies did that, but yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”
But Bash quickly fact-checked Vance, pointing out that local law enforcement and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources “reviewed 11 months of 911 calls. They only identified two instances of people alleging Haitians were taking geese out of parks. They found zero evidence to substantiate those claims.”
“Also, other evidence that you have talked about, even you have retweeted, alleged evidence, are unsourced social media videos from a different city, apparently no connection to Haitians,” Bash added. “And this is from a conservative activist who offered a $5,000 reward for such things.”
Vance also downplayed threats of violence against Haitians in the community that have disrupted schools and hospitals. “You just accused me of inciting violence against the community when all that I have done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’ policies.”
But Vance must know that the heightened attention to these unsubstantiated claims has Springfield immigrants in fear for their safety. “You can see it’s pure hatred. They hate us,” Jims Denis, a Haitian immigrant and Springfield resident, told USA Today. “I take my kids to the park usually. I cannot do that anymore. You know, I have to just stay home and just don’t go out. We used to just go for a walk in the neighborhood, but we cannot do that anymore.”