Vance magnifies false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio
(WASHINGTON) — GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance on Monday magnified a false claim that Haitian immigrants are abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
In a post on X, Vance published a video of himself at a July Senate Banking Committee hearing, reading a letter from Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck about the city’s challenges in keeping up with housing for the growing Haitian immigrant population.
In the post, Vance pushed the false claim that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping and eating people’s pets in Springfield.
“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” Vance wrote on X. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” he asked, a term that Republicans have attempted to tag Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris with, although she has denied holding that role.
But Heck debunked those claims about Springfield in a statement to ABC News.
“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Heck said in his statement.
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic,” Heck said.
According to the Springfield News-Sun, the Springfield Police Department has not received any reports of pets being stolen and eaten.
The false claim that immigrants are targeting people’s pets stemmed from a social media posting originally from a Springfield Facebook group that went viral, where the poster wrote that their neighbor’s daughter’s friend had lost her cat. The poster went on to make an unsubstantiated claim of Haitians allegedly taking the cat for food.
The post was picked up by people on social media, including rightwing activist Turning Points’ Charlie Kirk and Elon Musk.
Springfield, Ohio, has been at the center of several rumors concerning Haitian immigrants. The city even created a webpage debunking some claims.
Migrants have been drawn to the region because of low cost of living and work opportunities, the city says on its site. The city estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county, and that the rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care, and school resources. But the city also says that the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status from the federal government.
On Monday, Ohio Attorney General David Yost said the population in Springfield has grown by more than a third. In a statement, he announced he’s directing his office to “research legal avenues to stop the federal government from sending an unlimited number of migrants to Ohio communities.”
“The problem is not migrants, it is way, way too many migrants in a short period of time,” Yost said in his statement. “The problem is a massive increase in the population without any communication or assistance from the federal government.”
A spokesperson for Vance did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
(GRAND RAPIDS, Mich.) — Former President Donald Trump and his allies have quickly pivoted to attacking Vice President Kamala Harris since President Joe Biden on Sunday suspended his reelection campaign and the Democratic Party coalesced behind the president’s former running mate.
Both the Trump campaign and groups supporting him are accusing Harris of being “complicit” in a cover-up of what they claim is Biden’s decline making him unfit for office.
At the same time, they are painting her as an even more “radical” liberal.
Trump’s team and his allies have been fast in firing off new attacks on Harris, already running both television and online ads in key swing states.
A new campaign video released on Sunday shortly after Harris jumped in the race as a presidential candidate claimed Harris helped Biden “screw up the border,” emphasizing her role in the Biden White House as the “border czar” and accusing her of not visiting the border enough — rhetoric Trump has used in the past during his own border visits.
The Trump campaign has also launched new social media ads attacking Harris, highlighting her gaffes while describing her as a “far more radical” candidate.
Pro-Trump super PAC Make America Great Again Inc. too immediately launched an ad in Georgia, Pennsylvania and Arizona, pushing unfounded claims alleging Harris had concerns about Biden’s mental fitness and worked to cover it up.
A source close to the super PAC told ABC News, “we will expand the buy,” adding that “there is going to be tremendous chaos within the Democratic Party and our job now is to seize on that.” The plan will be to continue to frame Harris as complicit in hiding Biden’s decline while also focusing on her record as a prosecutor and vice president, according to the source.
Trump himself has also been lashing out at Harris during his recent campaign stops as his campaign began privately polling Trump versus other candidates — increasingly name-calling her and attacking her credibility. Until recently, her name would only occasionally come up on Trump’s campaign trail — particularly during his border visits and while attacking her record on border security.
Just this past weekend, at a campaign stop in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump poked fun at Harris’ laugh — a personality trait his campaign has also spotlighted.
“I call her ‘Laughin’ Kamala.’ Have you seen her laughing? She is crazy. You can tell a lot by a laugh. She is nuts,” Trump said.
Even before Biden dropped out on Sunday, Trump long argued that Harris, along with other members of the Democratic Party, was secretly running the show because Biden was not fit to be president — an argument that they hope will help them as they attempt to point the blame on Harris for policies from the Biden administration.
“When you vote for Biden, you’re probably voting indirectly for Harris anyway,” Trump added on Saturday.
“We’re going to defeat ‘Crooked Joe Biden’ and Laughin’ Kamala Harris,’ and we’re going to take back the White House, and we’re going to take back our country,” Trump similarly said at his campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, two weeks ago — shortly before he was rushed off the stage after an assassination attempt on him.
A campaign rally at his Doral golf course in Florida earlier this month, Trump zeroed in on Harris’ border record, saying she has the “worst border” in history.
“As vice president, Kamala Harris was given two jobs — two very important jobs, actually,” Trump said. “First, she was put in charge of the U.S. border security at the border. And she never showed up. She’s never gone.”
He then attacked Harris’ role in the Biden administration’s foreign policy, claiming she “failed” to deter Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
“Both times the result was a deadly failure,” Trump said.
The RNC Research social media account, managed by the Trump campaign and merged with the Republican National Committee, also posted several “flashbacks” on Sunday following Biden’s departure from the ticket, using Harris’ own words in an attempt to remind voters on what they believe is a failed record.
Again, those attacks centered around the claim that Harris’ was complicit in a cover-up as well as her role on the border.
“The biggest scandal in a generation — and Kamala is right at the center of the coverup,” one post by the Trump campaign suggested.
In another video posted, Harris is seen on the 2019 Democratic primary debate stage, raising her hand to suggest she would make illegal border crossings a civil, not, criminal offense.
As the Trump campaign attempts to capitalize on outlining Harris’ border policies, Harris has been on the campaign trail talking about abortion. She has issued several attacks on Trump’s proposed abortion policy.
Abortion bans have emerged as a divisive issue among Republicans since the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overrule Roe v. Wade’s nationwide guarantee to access the procedure.
“And understand, the former president wants to pass a national abortion ban to outlaw abortion in every single state, but we will not let him,” Harris said last month at an event in Texas. “We will not let that happen.”
Harris continued, “America must trust women, America must honor individual choice, America must defend freedom.”
Hailing from California where she served as attorney general, the Harris campaign is also starting to tout her previous role in contrast to Trump’s convictions, framing the potential battle between the two as prosecutor vs. criminal.
“Vice President Kamala Harris has held criminals accountable her entire career — and Donald Trump will be no different,” Harris for President Spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement. “That’s the contrast the American people will see over the next 106 days.”
(WASHINGTON) — Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley pushed back against criticism from former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Haley’s support for former President Donald Trump despite previous comments saying she found him unfit for office.
In an exclusive This Week interview on Sunday, ABC News co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Cheney about Haley saying she’s on “standby” to campaign for Trump after the former South Carolina governor openly opposed him in the Republican primaries.
Cheney, who last week endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, told Karl, “I can’t understand [Haley’s] position on this in any kind of a principled way. I think that, you know, the things that she said, that she made clear when she was running in the primary, those things are true.”
During the Republican presidential primary, Haley said Trump lacked focus and that “chaos follows him.” Months later, Haley said she would vote for Trump despite her disappointment with him.
Reacting to Cheney’s remarks, Haley told Fox and Friends Monday morning, “I respect her decision, but she can’t say my decision is not principled. It actually is.”
“We can either vote based on style or we can vote on substance. I’m voting based on substance,” she continued. “I’m looking at the fact we can’t live the next four years like we did the last four years. This is no contest.”
Seeking to contrast Trump with Harris on the economy, border and energy, Haley added, “We should be very clear, if you don’t like him, say you don’t like him, but you can’t say that his policies are worse than Kamala Harris’.”
Haley also directly criticized Trump and running mate Sen. JD Vance when asked about the “gender gap” with women supporting Harris more than Trump.
“I think it’s because Donald Trump and JD Vance need to change the way they speak about women. You don’t need to call Kamala dumb. She didn’t get this far, you know, just by accident — she’s here. That’s what it is. She’s a prosecutor,” Haley said. “You don’t need to go and talk about intelligence, or looks or anything else. Just focus on the policies. When you call even a Democrat woman dumb, Republican women get their backs up too.”
Last month, Trump said he’s “entitled” to the personal attacks aimed at Harris — because he doesn’t respect her and doesn’t “have a lot of respect for her intelligence.”
Haley reiterated that Trump should ditch those attacks to focus on substance.
“The bottom line is, we win on policy. Stick to the policies, leave all the other stuff. That’s how he can win,” Haley said.
(CHICAGO) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was among the many politicians attendance at the Democratic National Convention Monday, as the political gathering kicked off in Chicago.
Whitmer has served as governor of the Great Lake State since 2019 and published her political memoir “True Gretch” in July.
She sat down with ABC News’ ABC News’ Linsey Davis to discuss the Harris-Walz ticket, her potential future presidential run and underscore the significance of women’s votes in the upcoming election.
ABC NEWS: Joining us now on set, Michigan governor, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Thank you so much, governor, for joining us. We really appreciate it. So, one month ago, you were still suggesting and supporting Joe Biden for another term. Are you surprised at how quickly things have changed?
WHITMER: Well, you know what, we always knew that if a change was going to happen, it was going to come from President Biden. And ultimately he did change his mind. And we pivoted really quickly to embrace his vice president. She’s been by his side. She has been a loyal part of his administration. She’s been a key part of why they’ve had so many victories and knows how to step into the role and take us to the next, the next chapter, and I’m really excited about it. I think Tim Walz is a fantastic running mate for her, too.
ABC NEWS: You were one of a number of governors, of party leaders who really stepped out and endorsed Kamala Harris right away, right on the heels of Joe Biden doing the same. Were you surprised at all about how quickly the party really coalesced around Kamala Harris? Because, of course, at first there was some concern about that.
WHITMER: Well, you know, it’s a big tent and there are lots of different vantage points and people that are part of this party. But I think we all recognize that Kamala Harris was in the best position to take the next step for us as a party. She’s a great leader. She has proven she knows how to get things done, and she’s a normal human being. You know, she wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She has worked her way through life. She’s attained and held a number of offices and shown how tough she is. And she is up to this moment, and I’m excited to be here. I brought my daughters with me because I think it is. We are on the cusp of a big new chapter in this country and and it’s exciting. You can feel it here.
ABC NEWS: And you mentioned Tim Walz and your support for him. We know that you took your name out of the running for that VP selection early on, but had you received a call how would you have responded?
WHITMER: You know, I got to tell you, I’ve made a commitment to serve out my term in Michigan, and never for a second have I, do I plan not to do exactly that. Tim Walz, Josh Shapiro — Kamala Harris had so many great people from whom she could choose her running mate. But at the end of the day, it’s got to be someone she wants to run with. And so I, I would have been happy with any of those choices, but I think, I think this is just a great ticket. These are regular everyday people. They get it. They understand us, they see our lives, and they’re going to focus every single day on how to make our lives better. And you contrast that with Donald Trump, who’s in it for himself. I think that this is going to resonate with a lot of Americans.
ABC NEWS: There are many people will associate your state of Michigan with the uncommitted movement. Of course, we’ve seen a number of protesters here. How concerned are you, with regard to not only the physical presence of the protesters here in Chicago, but also the ballot box, in Michigan in particular, come November?
WHITMER: Well, number one, you know, there’s always protests at conventions, and certainly it’s robust. And we recognize it’s important that people have their ability to speak out. And that’s what people are doing. I also know that we are seeing a tremendous outpouring of energy and excitement about a Harris-Walz administration. We had a 15,000 person rally in Michigan two days after she announced her running mate. The other guy called it AI, but I was there. It was actually real people who are very excited about this. And so we have to earn the votes of every person. That means getting into the Jewish community, the Muslim community, the Arab community, the Palestinian community, all of whom call home in robust numbers, but all of whom are important. And, there’s there’s good work to do here, but I’m optimistic.
ABC NEWS: As you know, president — well former president — Donald Trump is expected to go campaign in Howell, Michigan, tomorrow. Many people are aware that a month ago, in Howell, KKK protesters marched in the streets with the white robes on and, and suggested that they support Donald Trump. I’m curious if you make anything about that connection and his going in particular to Howell tomorrow.
WHITMER: Well, you know, anyone who’s doing a little bit of research might have said that’s really a bad idea. Look at the optics. You’re showing up where the KKK was just at the same time you’re in Michigan. I mean, this is, I think a troubling, a troubling strategy that we see from the other side to divide us and to scare us and to stoke fear and anger and contrast to what we’re going to see here all week. This is a gathering of joyful, happy warriors. We are rolling up our sleeves. We’re doing the work. We take no one and no vote for granted. But by the same token, we’re not going to feed into the hatred and the otherism that we see routinely coming out of the Trump campaign.
ABC NEWS: In your book, “True Gretch,” and I want to quote, you say “You put on a leather jacket when you need true armor,” and “Don’t mess with the American women, we will fight back and we will win.” You talked about bringing your daughters here. Do you think that women are key in Michigan for Kamala Harris winning?
WHITMER: No question. No question at all. We saw, with our reproductive rights on the ballot two years ago, women would come to our events and say “I’m a Republican. I didn’t vote for you, but I’m out knocking doors for you because you’re the only one fighting for my rights.” People who have been expecting these 50-year rights would always be there, are now gone for our daughters across this country, are engaged. And so I do think that, the women’s votes are going to be very important in every election, but especially this one, especially in this historic moment too.
ABC NEWS: So each night we’re going to be talking to a governor from a battleground state like Michigan. And I’m curious for your state in particular, what do you think it’s going to need? What do you think your voters need, in order to get Kamala Harris and Tim Walz over the victory line?
WHITMER: Well, I think we get we show up, we do the work, we get into all 83 counties. We actually talk to voters, talk about the, you know, opportunity economy that Kamala Harris is, you know, addressing, saying every person deserves a path to prosperity, affordable housing and affordable way to get skills so we can get to a good paying job. The growth and manufacturing, we are seeing that in Michigan, it would not have happened but for the Biden-Harris administration. The cars that used to sit on lots waiting for chips are now moving, moving along the line, because we’re on on-shoring the supply chains. So I think that there are a lot of compelling things that Michiganders, are going to resonate with us. But I’m not going to assume everyone knows this. We got to make sure that they, that they appreciate what what really is at stake here.
ABC NEWS: And lastly before I let you go, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t ask. I know this is all about Harris and Walz now, but down the future, have you ruled out ever running for president yourself?
WHITMER: You know what? I’m voting for Harris-Walz this year. I plan to vote for them again in four years. So we’ll talk about what happens in eight years a while from now.
ABC NEWS: Alright Gov. Whitmer thank you so much for the time. Really appreciate you joining us.