What happened
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) said on Sunday that recent Republican "garbage" about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield "needs to stop." Springfield Mayor Rob Rue (R) also criticized "federal politicians" who have "negatively spun" his Ohio city and its migrant residents. Sen. J.D. Vance (Ohio), Donald Trump's running mate, defended spreading the baseless "cat meat" rumors.
Who said what
We known "the Haitians who are in Springfield are legal," they came to work, and they are "very good workers," DeWine said to ABC's "This Week." "Frankly, that's helped the economy," but thanks to the misinformation "there are hate groups coming into Springfield." The city is "caught in a political vortex," Rue told Politico. "We've had bomb threats the last two days. We've had personal threats the last two days, and it's increasing, because the national stage is swirling this up." Pets, he added, "are safe in Springfield."
Ohioans are "telling me that this happened," Vance said to CNN. But "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 because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast." Following last week's grade school evacuations and hospital lockdowns, Springfield's Wittenberg University and Clark State College canceled in-person classes this week due to threats of violence.
What next?
"We talk about abortion, we lose. We talk about immigration, we win," a Trump adviser said to Marc Caputo at The Bulwark. If that takes spreading baseless incendiary stories, "we'll take the hit to prove the bigger point." While the campaign is "not displeased" by the criticism, Caputo said, it's gambling the "pet-eating story becomes centered on immigration," not "the GOP ticket whipping up fear with exaggerations and fabrications."
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