Vance defends casting Springfield into national spotlight

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance defended throwing Springfield, Ohio, into the national spotlight in a Sunday show sweep, amid bomb threats in the city and pleas from local officials to stop.

“I'm still going to keep on talking about what the migrants have done to Springfield, Ohio, and what Kamala Harris’ open border has done to Springfield, Ohio,” Vance said in an interview with host Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I'm talking to my constituents and I'm hearing terrible things about what's going on in Springfield and Kamala Harris' open border policies have caused these problems.”

Almost a week after the senator posted unverified claims of Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio — inspiring former President Donald Trump to say “they’re eating the dogs” during Tuesday night’s debate — Vance continued to float the rumors that local and state officials say are false. Across three Sunday shows, Vance reiterated that he continues talking about the Haitian immigrants in Springfield because he said he has received dozens of complaints from constituents.

Local officials have asked politicians to stop demonizing Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city, especially as the national attention has brought bomb threats to local hospitals, schools and city hall, as well as led to the arrival of white supremacists.

“There’s a lot of garbage on the internet,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said in an interview with ABC’s “This Week. “This is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all.”

DeWine also stated that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are there legally.

And on Friday, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue cast the blame for bomb threats on national leaders talking about it: “All these federal politicians that have negatively spun our city, they need to know they're hurting our city, and it was their words that did it.”

Vance, a key communicator for the Trump-Vance campaign , denied responsibility for the unsought attention on Springfield. He dodged answering whether he regrets repeating this rhetoric about Haitian migrants when asked on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” He said he was not responsible for the bomb threats — which he did condemn — when asked about them on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“There was nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals,” Vance said to CNN’s Dana Bash, adding that the violence is “disgusting.” “We can condemn the violence on the one hand, but also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris’ open border.”

When given the opportunity to apologize to a family who asked Vance specifically to not talk about their 11-year-old son who was killed in a bus accident involving a Haitian migrant, Vance offered sympathies, but did not apologize.

Vance also cast the blame on the media for ignoring "this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes," he said. Vance blamed Bash for accusing him of inciting violence when the CNN host asked about Rue’s comments blaming the senator.

"I noticed that when you have Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple choice answers to the questions that you asked and you allowed them to answer the questions,” Vance said to Bash on CNN. “I'm happy to be here to talk about policy. But if you're going to interrupt me every single time that I open my mouth, then why am I even doing this?”

Democrats also bashed Vance on Sunday shows for continuing to fuel these rumors and attack the Haitian immigrants that have moved to Springfield. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called Vance’s comments “bonkers.”

“The governor of Ohio, the mayor of that town in Ohio, has said this is all made up. These are all lies. There's no truth to it,” Shapiro said in an interview with Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union. “And the United States senator from Ohio just came on your show and blamed his own constituents for his own lies. This guy's so pathetic, but the thing is, it is dangerous.”

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) lamented Trump's general attitude about immigration. "Every time he talks about an immigrant, he makes it seem as if they have done something nefarious. And it's not true. Just because they are immigrants, it doesn't mean there is anything illegal about them," she said on MSNBC's "Inside With Jen Psaki."

Vance, though, said the threats and fearmongering about the Springfield immigrants are not the point; the key narrative is that immigration overwhelms American communities.

“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 Bash. When asked to clarify if he just said he was “creating stories,” Vance said the accounts are true but him and Trump were able to create an American media focus around the immigration issue.

He added, “We created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”