Life feels darker in Springfield, Ohio, since Trump made it his wildest debate talking point, locals say

• Springfield is a national talking point after Trump claimed immigrants were eating pets there.
• Locals told BI the claims had created a tense and, some say, dangerous atmosphere in the Ohio town.
• They described what it's like living in a town that has been catapulted out of obscurity.

"I think the last time we were in the national news was when they were trying to decide which Springfield in the US was going to be the official home of 'The Simpsons,'" Sara Bear, a 39-year-old Springfield native, told Business Insider.

"We lost," she added, laughing.

But now, the once quiet Ohio town between Dayton and Columbus has been catapulted out of obscurity for a wildly different reason.

According to several residents who spoke with BI, a mention by former President Donald Trump in this week's presidential debate about baseless claims of Haitian immigrants eating pets has created a tense — and, some say, dangerous — atmosphere in Springfield.

Much of this tension is playing out online.

The Springfield, OH Community Facebook group was once a forum for people to post restaurant suggestions, discuss store closures, and share local news.

Now it's descended into chaos, as the small town has unintentionally become a political talking point and a proxy for the contentious national debate on immigration .

Seemingly innocuous posts on the Springfield Facebook group now prompt fierce debate, name-calling, and the spread of misinformation.

The chaos reached a fever pitch Tuesday night after Trump mentioned Springfield during his presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris .

In a now viral moment, he said: "In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people who came in, they are eating the cats. They're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there."

Trump was fact-checked, with the moderator noting that city officials had said there were "no credible reports" of the Haitian community doing such a thing.

But, according to Bear, the damage has already been done.

The heated atmosphere in the town, Bear said, has escalated to the point where restaurants are receiving prank calls asking whether cats are on the menu.

And on Thursday, Springfield City Hall was temporarily closed over a bomb threat that used "hateful language" directed at Haitian immigrants in the community, the city's mayor told The Washington Post .

Bear worries that the place she has always called home, which has a population of about 60,000 people, will "only be remembered as the cat-meme town full of hateful bigots," she said.

Like many residents, Bear has genuine concerns about the impact of immigration on Springfield — notably, the strain on social services, housing, and road safety.

But she said she believed the heated rhetoric had drowned out any possibility of a nuanced debate, "in favor of clicks and memes."

She added: "These are real people, and we will have to live with the real consequences of it."

One of the consequences of the climate is increased racial tensions , Jessica Eikleberry, a 35-year-old IT technician, said.

She used to describe the town to outsiders as a quiet and friendly community, but now she fears it has become not only a laughingstock but also a dangerous place to live as a person of color , she said.

'It's terrifying'

Eikleberry, who is of Korean heritage, has a Mexican fiancé, and has a biracial child, expressed concerns to BI about her family's safety because of their racial identities.

"It's terrifying," she said, adding that she no longer felt welcome in the town she's lived in her entire life.

"It's just the tension is so high among the citizens of Springfield that you're just too scared to even leave your house," she said, adding that she's seriously considering moving her family out of the town.

Olivia Parkinson, a 24-year-old therapist who has also lived in Springfield her whole life, told BI she feared the town would develop a reputation as a hotbed of racism .

"The way that they're basically calling them savages, eating our pets, is going to translate to the other people of color in town," she said.

Parkinson noted that last month, protesters with Nazi flags marched through Springfield , buoyed by the anti-immigrant rhetoric online.

"We have a college in this town, and that's where I went, and I'm wondering if people are going to want to send their kids to this college anymore," she said.

On the Facebook group, locals frequently express concern that the town's damaged reputation is driving people away and negatively affecting local businesses as a result.

Parkinson said the town's offerings were being overshadowed by it becoming a meme.

"There are a lot of good things about Springfield," she said. "I still choose to live here despite its faults."

One of the good things, she added, is the work being done by some residents to support Haitians living there.

Marjory Wentworth, an author who helps run cultural projects with Haitians in Springfield, is one of those volunteers.

Wentworth expressed concerns that the local Haitian community was being "used" and "demonized" by outsiders, like Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance , for their own political gains.

Springfield's Haitian community, against its will, is the collateral damage.

"They're trying to work hard and just do the best they can by their families just like everybody else," Wentworth told BI. "So this is just all really tragic."

For Marco Lapaix, a Haitian immigrant who has been living in Springfield for the past five years, the promise of a better life in Ohio has come with significant challenges.

He encounters unkindness from strangers, he said, and feels that his Haitian identity has led to discrimination , including being denied a commercial lease to open a restaurant.

Lapaix said that all he wanted was to be a law-abiding citizen who could make a living and be tolerated in the town he calls home.

However, the recent national rhetoric has made that pursuit harder.

"I'm mad. I'm scared," he said. "But I know we have to fight to be accepted."