With repeated baseless and racially-charged claims about the Haitian population of Springfield, former president Donald Trump and Ohio’s own JD Vance have once again aligned themselves with neo-Nazis on the internet.
Springfield’s Haitian population, granted legal temporary protection status in the United States, has grown by 25% over the past three years. But in July, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue appeared on Fox News calling on Senator JD Vance, now Trump’s vice presidential nominee, for help. “This border crisis is failing cities like ours,” he said. But it wasn’t until Sept. 9, the day before the first debate between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, that Vance propagated the now-infamous, baseless claim that Springfield’s Haitian immigrants are eating the pets of fellow residents. It sparked a slew of anti-immigrant rhetoric, further emphasized by Trump himself.
JD Vance Shot Springfield to the National Spotlight With a Single Baseless Tweet
Vance’s astoundingly twisted tweet spread like wildfire. It has since been liked over 100,000 times and inspired countless more posts like it, some containing racist slurs, some re-shared by neo-Nazis, and all in support of former President Trump and his proposed stricter border policies. According to a Washington Post analysis, just hours after Vance’s initial tweet, 159 right-wing influencers– including 23 Republican politicians, candidates, and party officials– had discussed the rumor online. Some of these posts were seen millions and millions of times.
Trump Amplified Lies on the Debate Stage (Again)
And then came Sept. 10, the day of the debate. The Springfield Police Department had already issued a statement issued by the Springfield police department had already declared there had been “no credible reports of pets being harmed, injured or abused by the immigrant community.” But it can be assumed that Vance, Trump, and others invested in this claim cared little about its accuracy but rather were motivated by its capacity to go viral.
In 2017, as president of the United States, Trump reportedly said that “all Haitians have AIDS.” Now, with another assertion meant to harm the reputation of immigrants, especially immigrants of color, it’s no surprise he took full advantage of the opportunity.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” said Trump almost unsurprisingly on the debate stage that night, in front of more than 67 million viewers. ABC’s David Muir pushed back, citing Springfield’s city manager, who said there were no credible reports of such claims. “I’ve seen people on television who claimed my dog was taken and used for food,” interrupted Trump. This quote from the former president himself sums up his approach to the truth pretty well. But it also reflects more broadly on the dangers of the internet.
Together, Social Media and Trump Create Web of Misinformation
Trump and his allies’ willingness to lie and the difficulties of fact-checking on social media have combined to create a perfect storm of misinformation. A Wall Street Journal report has confirmed Vance’s team was told the rumor was false prior to the debate, so it’s hard to believe that message was not conveyed to Trump. Yet both men knowingly continued promoting this dangerous lie. It fits their strategy of immigration fear-mongering, one that we know worked ahead of Trump’s election in 2016 and one that works especially well online, where right-wing users have been known to promote hateful rhetoric from behind the protection of their screens.
On a Sept. 15 CNN appearance, Vance revealingly defended his pet-eating claims, saying, “If I have to create stories” to get the media to cover the impact of immigration, “then that’s what I’m going to do.” Let us navigate the internet ahead of this election season with this statement in mind. Trump and Vance are willing to lie to win, utilizing social media to turn fiction into fact. A recent CBS News poll reveals that 69% of Trump voters believe the story about pet-eating Haitian immigrants is probably or certainly true. Trump has created a completely alternate set of facts that, terrifyingly, almost half the country seems to believe. This division and hatred only paves a clearer path to his retaking of the White House.
Springfield City Buildings Targeted Amid Increased Online Attention
Not to mention, these lies are wreaking havoc on the community of Springfield. Nathan Clark, whose son died in a bus accident with an unlicensed Haitian driver last year, declared tearfully that he “wishes his son was killed by a 60-year-old White man,” just hours before Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris met on the debate stage. “If that guy killed my son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone. Using Aidan as a political tool is, to say the least, reprehensible.” Similarly, more than 30 bomb threats have been made against schools, hospitals, and city buildings in Springfield since the debate, draining city resources and costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in funds.
On Sept. 20, the state’s governor, Mike DeWine, issued a response in a New York Times opinion piece. A Republican ally of Trump and Vance, even DeWine noted Haitian employees kept countless Ohio businesses afloat post-pandemic. “[Trump and Vance’s] verbal attacks against these Haitians– who are legally present in the United States– dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border.” While notable, his words have little power over the strength of viral content on the internet, especially when so many take Trump’s word as gospel. So members of the Springfield Haitian community are still fearful.
Springfield Haitian Community Threatened by GOP’s Internet Smear-Campaign
One Haitian restaurant owner told NPR, she has fielded multiple calls asking if her establishment serves “cats and dogs.” Another community member, Philomene Philostin, said her family and friends are scared to leave their houses. She told the Washington Post, “We come, and we’re willing to do the dirty jobs. We don’t steal, we don’t do bad things. We just come to work. And pay our taxes.” Now, she says, after her community was ravaged by Trump and Vance’s lies, the children in her church are asking if “white people are coming to kill them.”
To prop up the type of hate-riddled, lie-filled internet content that we saw in Springfield was a conscious choice by the GOP, much like their emphatic acceptance of Fox News and right-wing podcasters. Conspiracy theorists have always existed, but now they exist right alongside GOP elites, because of the power of internet fame. When we think about it, Trump has always been the type to capitulate off of other people’s fame. And if lying in camaraderie with outrageous internet personalities gets the most eyes on him, he’s going to do it, with status-obsessed people like Vance following suit.
