A heated back-and-forth in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate related to the false claims Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, spread about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, led CBS News to cut Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s mics in one of the more tense moments from Tuesday’s face off.
US Senator and Republican Vice Presidential candidate JD Vance (L) and Minnesota Governor and ... [+]
Moderators cut the candidates’ microphones as Vance went on a tangent about the process for applying for an asylum appointment online following a discussion about Springfield.
Vance said Springfield—where he falsely claimed last month that Haitian migrants were abducting and eating residents’ pets—was “overwhelmed” by “illegal immigrants,” prompting CBS moderators to point out that many Haitian migrants are in Springfield legally.
Walz didn’t directly mention the false rumors Vance spread when asked about Springfield and instead accused Vance of making Springfield a “talking point” that can “dehumanize and villainize other human beings.”
Vance is largely credited with spreading the rumor after tweeting about it on Sept. 10 to his 1.9 million X followers, writing that his office has received reports from residents who said their neighbors’ pets “or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants,” adding “it’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Later that night, Trump repeated the claim during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there."
Vance and Trump made the claims despite Springfield city officials telling the campaign the previous day that the rumors of Haitian migrants taking and eating pets weren’t true, Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck told The Wall Street Journal, recounting a conversation he had with a Vance staffer.
Get Forbes Breaking News Text Alerts: We’re launching text message alerts so you'll always know the biggest stories shaping the day’s headlines. Text “Alerts” to (201) 335-0739 or sign up here.
Vance doubled down on his claims, insisting on CNN that constituents reported to his office directly that their pets were being taken and eaten and accusing the media of downplaying the incidents. Vance has acknowledged the incidents might not be true, but has said they’re indicative of a broader problem with the Biden administration’s immigration policies: “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 said.
Both Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine rejected the claims in interviews in the days after Vance and Trump made the false allegations, which led to a series of threats against city officials and facilities, including a bomb threat that forced city hall to close and schools to evacuate. The bomb threat was one of 33 Springfield received in the weeks after Trump and Vance amplified the false rumors. The claim appeared to originate from a post in a Springfield Facebook group, according to the Springfield News-Sun, which reported that some viral posts in the Facebook group erroneously linked Springfield to an incident in August in Canton, Ohio, in which a woman was arrested and charged with killing and eating a cat.
A Haitian advocacy group, the Haitian Bridge Alliance, filed private criminal charges last month against Trump and Vance, asking a judge to order their arrest for allegedly disrupting public services and making false alarms for repeating the claims.