JD Vance Stood by His False Claim About Haitian Migrants Eating Pets in Springfield, Ohio

During an interview on CNN, Former President Donald Trump’s running mate in the US election, Republican Senator JD Vance, has defended amplifying false stories about migrants stealing and eating pets in the United States, saying in an interview that the political ends justify the means. It is an unsupported story that former President Donald Trump has also echoed on the debate stage and on social media. “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes," Sen. Vance said. "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." Trump and his Republican allies have also been sharing cat-themed memes to push the anti-immigrant narrative. On Friday, US President Joe Biden called the attacks “simply wrong”. In response to the recent influx of around 15,000 Haitians to Springfield, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) plans to send additional law enforcement to the city and $2.5 million in health care aid. Critics have also pointed to the Trump campaign’s approach as further evidence of US election seasons becoming increasingly dominated by ephemeral cultural spectacle meant to stoke partisan outrage, while sidelining meaningful policy discussion.

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