Ohio Governor Mike DeWine
John Minchillo | Associated Press
republican governor mcdewin Ohio on Sunday condemned a false conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating people’s food that was amplified by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. pet In Springfield, Ohio.
“It’s total bullshit, it’s just not true. There’s just no evidence for that,” DeWine said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It’s not helpful to talk about Haitians eating dogs. Again, these people They are here legally, they are here legally, and they are working.”
Trump and Vance have both stepped up their efforts to spread false rumors, even as Ohio government officials increasingly plead with Trump and Vance to stop spreading misinformation. Springfield’s mayor has repeatedly said there is no evidence to support the conspiracy.
“This discussion has to stop,” DeWine said. “We need to focus on moving forward, not dogs and cats being eaten. This is ridiculous.”
The Trump campaign is organizing a visit to Springfield, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News on Sunday. former republican presidential candidate Vivek RamaswamyTrump, who is now a Trump campaign surrogate, also announced Sunday that he would hold a town hall in Springfield on Thursday.
Trump promoted the conspiracy theory most widely on the stage at a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris last Tuesday. Vance continued to defend the topic.
“The American media was completely ignoring this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “If I have to make up a story to get the American media to really focus on the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Springfield schools faced with comments from Trump, Vance bomb threatmandatory evacuations and temporary closures. Wittenberg University in Springfield canceled all Sunday events after receiving an email threat about a possible campus shooting targeting Haitians.
With 51 days until the November election, the conspiracy theories have led to Trump and Vance spending much of the campaign defending themselves from backlash in states that are safe Republican territory this election season.
“He’s going to be great at Ohio State,” DeWine said. “I think he would be better off talking about issues that really affect Americans.”
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