Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance admitted on Sunday to creating the racist lie about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets. Appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Vance then insisted that he had based this creation on information from his constituents, but he made it clear that he was more interested in creating a media narrative than in being truthful.

“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 host Dana Bash.

Bash told Vance that Republican officials on the ground in Ohio were upset over his and Donald Trump’s false claims, which have led to multiple threats of violence in the small Ohio city. On Monday, the city was forced to cancel its yearly cultural celebration due to “threats and safety concerns.”

But in the interview, Vance responded that he wasn’t going to stop repeating his false narrative just because his worlds were putting people in danger. “Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence?” Vance said.

“These are your constituents,” said Bash, “so why are you putting them at risk by continuing to spread claims about Haitian immigrants, despite officials in your state saying that there’s no evidence and pleading for you to stop?”

In response, Vance repeated another lie being used to justify spreading the destructive claims about immigrants. “Kamala Harris allowed 20,000 Haitian migrants to get dropped into a small Ohio town of about 40,000 people,” insisted Vance. According to the Ohio senator, even though some of the things he was talking about were not “verifiable and confirmable,” he was using them to catch the media’s attention.

Haitian immigrants were not brought to Springfield by the government. They moved to the city over several years in response to its high numbers of open jobs. And they’ve helped to rebuild a city that was in serious decline. 

As Springfield Mayor Rob Rue made clear to Bash that the ugly, racist narrative being repeated by Vance and Donald Trump is causing very real danger for the community.

“It would be helpful if they understood the weight of their words and how they could harm a community like ours,” Rue said.

In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, said the lies being promoted by Trump and Vance were “hurtful” and talked about the impact on Springfield. That included hate groups marching down the streets and literature allegedly being spread by the KKK.

“There’s a lot of garbage on the internet and this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all,” DeWine told co-anchor Martha Raddatz. 

The governor showed no doubt about the origins of that garbage.

Raddatz: Is there a connection between threats to your state and what President Trump said and what JD Vance is doing online?

DeWine: I think these discussions about Haitians eating dogs and cats and other things needs to stop. We need to focus on what is important. What’s important is that we get primary care health to everyone in a very growing city, that we do other things in regard to housing.

These are kind of the basic things that we need to do. We need to focus on those and not these—this discussion about Haitians eating dogs. It’s just not helpful.

And, again, these people are here legally. They’re here legally. And they want to work. And they are, in fact, working.

But there’s no sign that Trump and Vance will back off their attacks on Springfield and its immigrant community.

As if Republicans couldn’t do more to damage Springfield, Trump is coming for a visit.

As NBC News reported Sunday, Trump plans to visit the city “soon.” That’s not a visit local officials are anticipating with joy.

“We’re in pain right now,” Rue said NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW.” He added that Trump showing up in Springfield “could be difficult, a very difficult visit.”

Likely making matters even more difficult, Republican candidate turned Trump surrogate Vivek Ramaswamy has also announced that he planned to be there on Thursday for a “town hall” in which he says there will be “open & honest dialogue about mass migration.” 

Don’t anticipate anything honest about either appearance.

Meanwhile, threats of violence in Springfield continue. That’s what happens when real people in a real city become props in a lie created specifically to stir up hate.

Last modified: September 16, 2024