Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Sunday that he stands by claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have eaten pets.
He said that the pet eating claims came “from firsthand accounts from my constituents.”
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. 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 told the outlet.
Responding to CNN’s questions about whether the allegations are false, Vance said, “We created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story.”
Over the past week, Vance and some conservative-leaning social media accounts have made memes on the topic including artificial intelligence-generated memes showing pets holding signs endorsing former President Donald Trump, who mentioned the allegations during last week’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The mayor of Springfield and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine have repeatedly denied the reports, while the state’s attorney general said a police call confirmed the reports.
“I’d like to first say Springfield is still beautiful and your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio. Safe,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said on NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo last week, adding that the pet-eating claims has created a “negative light” of the city.
On Sunday, DeWine, who runs a charity in Haiti, defended the Haitians in Springfield by saying that many of them are not in the United States illegally.
“What the companies tell us is that they are very good workers,” he added. “They’re very happy to have them there, and frankly, that’s helped the economy. Now, are there problems connected? Well, sure. When you go from a population of 58,000 and add 15,000 people onto that, you’re going to have some challenges and some problems. And we’re addressing those.”
DeWine also said there are “legitimate problems” with the U.S. border and reiterated his support for Trump in the 2024 election.
Claims were also made during multiple Springfield town hall meetings by local residents.
“These Haitians are running into trash cans. They’re running into buildings. They’re flipping cars in the middle of the street, and I don’t know how like, y’all can be comfortable with this,” a resident, Anthony Harris, told city officials last month, although he did not provide any evidence or details. “They’re in the park, grabbing up ducks by the neck and cutting their heads off and eating them.”
Several bomb threats have also been made to various places across Springfield in recent days, including government buildings, hospitals, and schools.