Republican US vice presidential candidate JD Vance has once again defended his denigrating verbal attacks against immigrants from Haiti. “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then I will do that,” Vance said on US television.
Vance and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump had accused migrants from Haiti of eating pets in the city of Springfield. Authorities in the city in the Midwest of the USA have been stressing for days that they are not aware of such cases and that there is no credible evidence of such acts.
State of emergency in Springfield
When asked by the CNN journalist whether this meant that Vance had just made up these stories, Vance again claimed that voters had told him about such incidents. “When I say we are creating a story, I mean we are making sure that the American media focuses on it,” Vance backtracked.
A state of emergency has now been declared in Springfield, Ohio. The city, which has a population of around 58,000, has received several bomb threats to public buildings and schools in recent days.
Over the weekend, callers to Springfield police reported the presence of the far-right Proud Boys militia in the city, CNN reported. Videos circulated on social media showing a group of about a dozen people, some of whom were wearing Proud Boys logos. Police told the station that the group was no longer there when officers arrived on the scene.
Vance accuses Harris
When asked about this, Vance said: “I think we must not focus on twelve protesters, but on the fact that Kamala Harris’ policies have destroyed the lives of thousands of residents.” He accused the Democratic presidential candidate of “opening” the US southern border with Mexico.
US Vice President Harris is running against Trump in the presidential election on November 5th – polls predict a close race. Trump repeatedly portrays immigrants as dangerous criminals. He also uses dehumanizing language, saying, for example, that they are “poisoning the blood of our country.”
