Vance is still pushing debunked Haitian pet-eating story claiming residents can’t ‘speak their truth’

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has suggested that the people of Springfield, Ohio, have been prevented from speaking “their truth” after a rumor about the town’s Haitian immigrants was repeatedly and thoroughly debunked.

Haitian immigrants in the town have been baselessly accused of stealing domestic pets, including dogs and cats, and eating them.

Vance has continued to push the claim even after town officials issued denials, and former President Donald Trump aggressively repeated the allegations from the ABC News debate stage on September 10.

The Ohio senator lambasted the media for “debunking” the story during a campaign stop in North Carolina on Monday.

“I wish the American media was half as interested in the stress on the local schools, the stress on the hospitals, and unaffordable housing as they are in debunking a story that comes from the residents of Springfield,” Vance said.

“Did you ever think about listening to people speak their truth instead of listening to some bureaucrat and assuming that everything they tell you is true?” he asked.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue recently appeared on CNN, saying: “I think it’s important to know ... our governor has trusted the local government here because ... we do know what’s going on, and we hear concerns about the community, but you know, we have told America that this story isn’t true.”

He added: “There’s no reason for us other than to tell you the truth. We care about our community. We don’t want lies spread around like has happened for the last 12 to 13 days.”

Ohio Republican Representative Mike Turner, whose district includes Springfield, appeared on CNN last week saying, “This certainly is incredibly tragic and completely untrue … And this should not have happened. It’s been tearing the community apart.”

The state’s governor, Republican Mike DeWine, was born in Springfield. In an op-ed for The New York Times on Friday he wrote that the city “is having a resurgence in manufacturing and job creation. Some of that is thanks to the dramatic influx of Haitian migrants who have arrived in the city over the past three years to fill jobs. They are there legally. They are there to work.”

DeWine continued, saying that it’s “disappointing” that the town “has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy.”

Hoax bomb threats have temporarily closed down two schools, placed a hospital on lockdown, and closed City Hall. DeWine noted that the two local colleges now operate remotely.

“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield,” DeWine wrote. “This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”