The allegations of pet eating have been disputed by Ohio’s governor and the mayor of Springfield, Ohio.
Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) said Sunday that he stands by claims that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, have eaten pets.
During an interview on CNN, Vance was pressed on posts and statements he’s made on X about pet eating in the city, which has seen a surge of up to 20,000 Haitian immigrants in the past few years.
He said that the pet eating claims came “from firsthand accounts from my constituents.”
“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. 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 the outlet.
Responding to CNN’s questions about whether the allegations are false, Vance said, “We created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story.”
Over the past week, Vance and some conservative-leaning social media accounts have made memes on the topic including artificial intelligence-generated memes showing pets holding signs endorsing former President Donald Trump, who mentioned the allegations during last week’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
The mayor of Springfield and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine have repeatedly denied the reports, while the state’s attorney general said a police call confirmed the reports.
“I’d like to first say Springfield is still beautiful and your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio. Safe,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said on NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo last week, adding that the pet-eating claims has created a “negative light” of the city.
“These claims are, they were just untrue. And we may mention that … we just don’t see reports of those,” Rue said of Trump’s remark.
On Sept. 11, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost wrote in a post on X, “There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield.”
There’s a recorded police call from a witness who saw immigrants capturing geese for food in Springfield. Citizens testified to City Council.
— Attorney General Dave Yost (@DaveYostOH) September 11, 2024
These people would be competent witnesses in court.
Why does the media find a carefully worded City Hall press release better evidence?
He also noted that citizens testified to city council about incidents of Haitian migrants killing geese.
