Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance defended Springfield, Ohio, being thrust into the national spotlight on Sunday despite bomb threats in the city and pleas from local authorities to stop the practice.
“I keep talking about what the migrants did to Springfield, Ohio, and what Kamala Harris’ open border did to Springfield, Ohio,” Vance said in an interview with anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I talk to my constituents and I hear horrible things about what’s happening in Springfield and Kamala Harris’ open border policy has caused these problems.”
Nearly a week after the senator posted unverified claims about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio — inspiring former President Donald Trump to say “they’re eating the dogs” during Tuesday night’s debate — Vance has continued to spread rumors that local and state officials say are false. On three Sunday shows, Vance reiterated that he continues to talk about Haitian immigrants in Springfield because he said he’s received dozens of complaints from constituents.
Local officials have asked politicians to stop demonizing Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city, largely due to national attention over bomb threats at local hospitals, schools and city hall, which have also attracted white supremacists.
“There’s a lot of nonsense on the Internet,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week.” “This is a piece of nonsense that’s just not true. There’s no evidence for it at all.”
DeWine also stated that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are legal residents.
And on Friday, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue blamed the bomb threats on national leaders who spoke up: “All those federal politicians who have negatively impacted our city need to know that they are damaging our city, and it was their words that did that.”
Vance, a key communicator for the Trump-Vance campaign, denied responsibility for the unsolicited attention on Springfield. He dodged a question about whether he regretted repeating the rhetoric about Haitian migrants when asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He said he was not responsible for the bomb threats — which he condemned — when asked about them on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“There is nothing I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals,” Vance told CNN’s Dana Bash, adding that the violence is “disgusting.” “We can condemn the violence on one hand, but we can also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris’ open border.”
When given the chance to apologize to a family who had specifically asked Vance not to talk about their 11-year-old son who was killed in a bus crash involving a Haitian migrant, Vance offered his condolences but did not apologize.
Vance also blamed the media for “ignoring this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” he said. Vance blamed Bash for accusing him of inciting violence when the CNN host asked about Rue’s comments blaming the senator.
“I noticed when you had Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple choice answers to the questions that you asked and you allowed them to answer the questions,” Vance told Bash on CNN. “I’m glad I’m here to talk about policy. But if you’re going to interrupt me every time I open my mouth, why am I even doing this?”
Democrats also attacked Vance on Sunday shows for continuing to stoke these rumors and attacking Haitian immigrants who have moved to Springfield. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called Vance’s comments “crazy.”
“The governor of Ohio, the mayor of that city in Ohio, has said this is all made up. This is all lies. There is no truth to it,” Shapiro said in an interview with Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “And the U.S. senator from Ohio just came on your show and blamed his own constituents for his own lies. This man is so pathetic, but it’s dangerous.”
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) deplored Trump’s general stance on immigration. “Every time he talks about an immigrant, he makes it sound like they’ve done something evil. And that’s not true. Just because they’re immigrants doesn’t mean there’s anything illegal about them,” she said on MSNBC’s “Inside With Jen Psaki.”
However, Vance said the threats and fear-mongering about Springfield immigrants aren’t the main issue; the main issue is that immigration is flooding American communities.
“If I have to create stories so that the American media will actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told Bash. When asked if he was just saying he was “creating stories,” Vance said the stories are true, but that he and Trump could create a U.S. media focus on the immigration issue.
He added: “We created the real focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”
