Vance uses rumors of pet eating in Ohio to ding Harris on border

Republican vice-presidential candidate Rep. J.D. Vance used rumors of people having their pets taken and eaten by illegal immigrants in Ohio as a way to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, though police said they haven’t received any such reports.

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” Mr. Vance of Ohio wrote Monday 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 said.

The rumors of Haitian immigrants eating pets started from a social media post in a local Facebook group. The Springfield Police Division said Monday that no one has reported any pet-eating crimes to it.

Springfield Police said they were aware of the social media posts, but it wasn’t “something that’s on our radar right now,” the Springfield News-Sun reported.

Republicans were quick to use the reports as a way to attack Ms. Harris on her immigration policies.

Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk wrote Sunday on X that Springfield residents reported “that Haitians are eating their family pets, another gift of the Biden-Harris mass immigration replacement plan.”

“Liberals will soon be lecturing Americans on why they need to be sensitive to Haitian culture and accept this as the new normal. Those idiots deserve to be condemned and mocked mercilessly,” he wrote. “Save our pets. Secure our borders.”

The post included screengrabs of posts that were shared in the local Facebook group that talked about the purported pet eating.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, posted a photo of two cats hugging each other on his X account Monday, with the caption, “Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”

The Trump War Room account wrote Monday on X that “President Trump will deport migrants who eat pets. Kamala Harris will send them to your town next.”

“Make your choice, America,” the post concluded.

Haitian immigration is specifically mentioned on the city of Springfield’s website, which says they are in the city legally under the federal government's Immigration Parole Program.

The program benefits residents of Haiti and several other countries specified by the Homeland Security Department by letting them stay in the U.S. without a visa if they have a financial sponsor and meet other criteria.

The Washington Times has reached out to the Harris campaign for comment.