Ohio GOP Gov Refuses to Condemn J.D. Vance’s Cruel Lies About Haitians
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday declined to denounce a racist and xenophobic conspiracy theory about local Haitian immigrants, just hours after Ohio Senator J.D. Vance doubled down by spreading the blatant misinformation.As DeWine noted in Tuesday’s press conference, the city of Springfield has seen an influx of 15,000 Haitian immigrants over the past four years as a result of the chaos and widespread gang violence caused by the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021. The United States has granted these immigrants temporary protected status, allowing them to move to the U.S., pay taxes, own homes, and work.Some Republicans, wanting to look tough on immigration, claim that Springfield is being overwhelmed by the immigrants—and to make their point, they’re even spreading malicious lies about the Haitians. Vance, who is Donald Trump’s running mate, tweeted Monday, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” On Tuesday, he repeated the claim, only allowing that “it’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”And yet, DeWine refused to condemn such rhetoric. When asked whether he would “denounce other Ohio Republicans who are elevating those claims,” the governor said he was just there to establish “the essential facts,” and referred to the city manager’s statement about “any of these particular matters.”“Look,” he added, “I came here today because I thought it was important to outline for the people, not only of Springfield, but of Ohio and the country, what the essential facts are. The essential facts I have gone over to the best of my knowledge, are the essential facts.”DeWine referred to statements by Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and City Manager Ryan Heck. Heck, who had written to Vance in July asking for federal support to deal with the influx of immigrants, outright denied the right-wing rumors. He said there were “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”“Additionally,” Heck said, “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.”When asked about a school bus crash caused by a Haitian immigrant’s reckless driving, which injured 20 students and killed one, DeWine said that there had been an uptick in traffic accidents. While he said he did not “blame” any one group, he also claimed that many Haitians had never driven before.When asked specifically about the false claims that Haitian immigrants are eating cats or killing geese, DeWine did not condemn them. “Look, I’m not going to comment on that,” he said.“The local officials [and] people who live in Springfield have talked about different things that might appear on the internet. A lot of things can appear on the internet,” he added. “But they have talked about those, and they have said they’ve not seen evidence of that. And they are the ones who are in the community.”When asked about Vance specifically, DeWine said, “I would expect a United States senator to be talking about the border.”DeWine was also asked whether he had spoken to any Haitian immigrants in Springfield. He said he had not.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine on Tuesday declined to denounce a racist and xenophobic conspiracy theory about local Haitian immigrants, just hours after Ohio Senator J.D. Vance doubled down by spreading the blatant misinformation.
As DeWine noted in Tuesday’s press conference, the city of Springfield has seen an influx of 15,000 Haitian immigrants over the past four years as a result of the chaos and widespread gang violence caused by the assassination of Haiti’s president in 2021. The United States has granted these immigrants temporary protected status, allowing them to move to the U.S., pay taxes, own homes, and work.
Some Republicans, wanting to look tough on immigration, claim that Springfield is being overwhelmed by the immigrants—and to make their point, they’re even spreading malicious lies about the Haitians. Vance, who is Donald Trump’s running mate, tweeted Monday, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” On Tuesday, he repeated the claim, only allowing that “it’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
And yet, DeWine refused to condemn such rhetoric. When asked whether he would “denounce other Ohio Republicans who are elevating those claims,” the governor said he was just there to establish “the essential facts,” and referred to the city manager’s statement about “any of these particular matters.”
“Look,” he added, “I came here today because I thought it was important to outline for the people, not only of Springfield, but of Ohio and the country, what the essential facts are. The essential facts I have gone over to the best of my knowledge, are the essential facts.”
DeWine referred to statements by Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and City Manager Ryan Heck. Heck, who had written to Vance in July asking for federal support to deal with the influx of immigrants, outright denied the right-wing rumors. He said there were “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
“Additionally,” Heck said, “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.”
When asked about a school bus crash caused by a Haitian immigrant’s reckless driving, which injured 20 students and killed one, DeWine said that there had been an uptick in traffic accidents. While he said he did not “blame” any one group, he also claimed that many Haitians had never driven before.
When asked specifically about the false claims that Haitian immigrants are eating cats or killing geese, DeWine did not condemn them. “Look, I’m not going to comment on that,” he said.
“The local officials [and] people who live in Springfield have talked about different things that might appear on the internet. A lot of things can appear on the internet,” he added. “But they have talked about those, and they have said they’ve not seen evidence of that. And they are the ones who are in the community.”
When asked about Vance specifically, DeWine said, “I would expect a United States senator to be talking about the border.”
DeWine was also asked whether he had spoken to any Haitian immigrants in Springfield. He said he had not.
