JD Vance says he'll 'create stories' to bring attention to suffering of Americans

Erin Couch Cincinnati Enquirer

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This story has been updated with a statement from the JD Vance campaign.

JD Vance defended spreading rumors about a growing Haitian immigrant population in Springfield, Ohio.

In an interview Sunday morning on CNN's "State of the Union," journalist Dana Bash questioned the vice presidential candidate and Cincinnati resident on former president Donald Trump's rhetoric in the most recent debate. She asked why instead of mentioning policy issues surrounding an influx of new residents, like affordable housing, schools and health care, "(Trump) just said, 'Haitians are eating dogs and cats.'"

"Can you affirmatively say now that this is a rumor that has no basis with evidence?" Bash asked.

Fact check: The truth about Springfield, Ohio: Are immigrants eating dogs as Trump says? What to know

Vance said the evidence is the firsthand accounts of his constituents who told him it happened, adding he has been trying to talk about Springfield for months, but "the American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes."

Bash said it wasn't just a meme, though.

"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, Dana, because you guys are completely letting Kamala Harris coast," Vance said.

Bash pointed out that he just said he's creating a story.

"You just said that this is a story you created," she said. Vance responded, "Yes."

"So the eating dogs and cats thing is not accurate," she said.

"We are creating − we are – Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents," Vance said. "I say that we're creating a story, meaning we're creating the American media focusing on it. I didn't create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield, thanks to Kamala Harris' policies. Her policies did that, but yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris' policies."

Vance helped spread the rumor on social media about pets being eaten, which has been refuted by Springfield officials. The city manager released a statement saying there's no evidence of any cats or other pets being harmed or eaten by the Haitian immigrants. The statement also refuted rumors that immigrants were involved in "illegal activities such as squatting or littering" or "deliberately disrupting traffic."

Taylor Van Kirk, spokeswoman for Vance, said in a submitted statement to The Enquirer it is "pathetic that the liberal media only acknowledged the impact of Kamala Harris's open border policies after the very real suffering of a small Ohio community became an internet meme."

"Senator Vance will always do what the liberal media and Kamala Harris refuse to do, which is unapologetically listen to the concerns of his constituents," she said.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday also denounced claims promoted by former President Donald Trump that Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats, calling them "hurtful" and "not helpful."

Accusations of immigrants eating household pets is a longstanding xenophobic trope in American society. Paste BN reports the origins of the immigrants-eat-pets trope have been lost to time, but the rhetoric was documented in Grover Cleveland's 1888 run for the presidency when he had trading cards printed up depicting Chinese male immigrants eating rats.

It has also been referenced in popular culture, with Larry David's character in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" convincing fellow wedding guests a Korean caterer had served them dog, and the NBC television show "ALF" depicting the show's namesake furry alien character getting ready to eat a cat between two halves of a submarine roll.

Paste BN staff writers Karen Weintraub, Deborah Barfield Berry and Lauren Villagran contributed to this report.

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