Vice presidential candidate JD Vance says Kamala Harris is trying to silence an American community overwhelmed by illegal immigrants by downplaying concerns about reports of immigrants eating residents’ pets.
The unusual story has dominated the news cycle since rampant complaints emerged in Springfield, Ohio, that immigrants, mostly from Haiti, are trapping and eating domestic cats and ducks.
Former President Donald Trump even mentioned it in last week’s debate, claiming immigrants are “eating dogs” in the city.
But Vice President Harris went further, saying in an interview Tuesday that Vance and Trump’s “hateful rhetoric” was what led to a spike in more than 30 bomb threats at schools in the same community.
DailyMail.com asked Vance during a campaign rally on Tuesday to respond to Harris’s allegations, as boos and jeers erupted from the Wisconsin crowd.
Vance, who is from Ohio, responded by calling Harris “embarrassing” for downplaying reports and claims he and Trump have heard from hundreds of residents making the same claims.
Vice presidential candidate JD Vance says Kamala Harris is trying to silence an American community overwhelmed by illegal immigrants
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As the story gained national prominence, the Ohio town faced between 35 and 40 bomb threats.
However, Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine, said this week that the threats are “hoaxes” and all come from “foreign countries.”
“Vice President Harris today said again that ‘hateful rhetoric’ about immigrants eating their pets is what sparked the bomb threats in Springfield. Can you respond to this latest one?’ DailyMail.com asked Vance during a rally in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Tuesday.
Upon hearing the Democratic vice president’s name, the pro-MAGA crowd became excited and began booing.
“That’s basically my response,” Vance said. “Just put that in the paper: boos and thumbs down. That’s my response to what Kamala Harris said.”
“Look, you guys are going to get me fired up again. I was ready to go,” he said Tuesday as he wrapped up his final campaign stop after a visit to Sparta, Michigan, earlier in the day.
The unusual story has dominated the news cycle since complaints surfaced in Springfield, Ohio, that migrants, mostly from Haiti, are trapping and eating domestic cats and ducks.
Vance then responded more seriously, telling DailyMail.com in front of several hundred rally-goers: “What happened in Springfield is not just shameful because it has made people’s lives worse.”
“What has happened is shameful because of the way Kamala Harris and her media allies have tried to silence people from daring to complain that life has gotten worse in their own community, in their own country.”
“Think about it, the argument was that because Donald Trump and I — and the many, many hundreds of Springfield residents we’ve spoken to over the last few weeks — dared to point out that life has gotten worse for those citizens, we are somehow to blame because a psychopath called in a bomb threat,” Vance continued.
He said: “The media is whitewashing literal foreign disinformation in an effort to silence citizens of their own country from participating in American elections. It is despicable and it has to stop.”
Harris was asked about the growing controversy in Springfield while attending a question-and-answer forum hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia.
“It’s a real shame. It breaks my heart to think about this community,” she said, recalling that schools were closed on “school picture day.”
Harris recalled being a child at school on “picture day” and expressed even more sadness that the event was cut short.
Harris was asked about the growing controversy in Springfield while attending a question-and-answer forum hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia.
“Do you remember what that’s like?” Harris asked, demonstrating what it was like to dress up for a special occasion by moving her shoulders back and forth. “Going to school on picture day? Dressing up in your best, getting ready, knowing what you were going to wear the night before?”
The controversy in Springfield erupted after former President Donald Trump claimed during last week’s presidential debate that some immigrants were “eating the dogs,” “cats” and “pets” of the community.
Trump was accused of making “baseless” allegations after the claims went viral on social media, even as his supporters portrayed him as an advocate for protecting their pets by sharing AI-generated cat memes.
Harris blamed Trump for the bomb threats, although Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine described them as not credible and coming mostly from abroad.
“They had to be evacuated. Children. Children,” he lamented. “A whole community plunged into fear.”
