Vice President Kamala Harris criticized former President Donald Trump’s “hateful rhetoric” and “nonsense” around him. debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eat people’s pets and dogs.
Harris, who made the comments Tuesday before a panel of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, said of Trump: “You cannot be trusted to stand behind the seal of the president of the United States of America and engage in this hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country.”
Trump accused Haitians of eating pets of Springfield residents during last week’s presidential debate, and if viral false claims continued on the subject circulateThe city of Springfield has had to tighten its security.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine sent three dozen state police to provide more security following what he called “a series of unfounded bomb threats.” Two elementary schools were evacuated and two local colleges moved classes online as a result of the threats, and a festival at the end of the month has been canceled as a security measure. DeWine, a Republican, said many of the threats “are coming from overseas” from people seeking to stir up discord. Most Haitian immigrants in the U.S. are here legally under American programs, even if Trump says He would deport them “back to Venezuela.”
Harris said she felt terrible for the Springfield community, calling it “a disgrace” that elementary school children who were “dressed in their best” for school picture day were forced to evacuate because of the threats.
“This is exhausting, and it’s damaging and it’s hateful … and it’s rooted in centuries-old issues that we should have no tolerance for,” Harris said. “So let’s turn the page and chart a new path forward and say, ‘You can’t use that microphone anymore.'” She said she had a brief conversation with Trump after the second apparent assassination attempt against him at his golf club in Florida last weekend.
“I checked in with him to make sure he was OK,” Harris said. “And I told him what I’ve said publicly: There is no place for political violence in our country.”
Nikole Killion contributed to this report.
