Vance addresses unfounded claims of migrants eating pets during NewsNation town hall

Republican vice presidential candidate and Sen. JD Vance (Ohio) addressed unfounded claims he made in September that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats during Thursday night’s NewsNation town hall.

“What I said then, and I’ll say now, is, you’re hearing a lot of things from your constituents. They’re telling you things, and I think it’s important for me to listen to the people that are coming to me with their problems,” Vance told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo in a preview clip of the Detroit event.

“Now, do I think that the media certainly got distracted on the housing crisis and the health crisis and the crisis in the public schools by focusing on the eating the dogs and the cats things? Yeah, I do. Do I wish that I had been better in that moment? Maybe,” he said. 

“But it’s also people in my community, people that I represent are coming to me and saying this thing is happening. What am I supposed to do? Hang up the phone and tell them they’re a liar because the media doesn’t want me to talk about it?”

In September, Vance amplified the unfounded claim about Haitian migrants abducting and eating pets. The city’s police department denied that any such incidents took place. Former President Trump further amplified the false claim during his presidential debate against Vice President Harris, which received backlash from Democrats and Republicans. 

Ohio Rep. Mike Turner (R), who represents Springfield, condemned the remarks, calling them “tragic and completely untrue.” 

The city received numerous bomb threats and at least two schools and two colleges temporarily closed in the wake of the claims.