Trump and Vance's false immigration rumor is nonsense

Ohio Republican Governor Mike DeWine on Sunday dismissed false conspiracy theories spread by former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating people's pets in Springfield, Ohio.

“This is nonsense that is simply not true. There is no evidence whatsoever for this,” DeWine said on ABC's “This Week.” “The discussion about Haitians eating dogs is just not helpful. And again, these people are here legally. They are here legally, and they want to work, and they actually work.”

Trump and Vance have tripled the spread of false rumors, despite increasing calls from the Ohio government to stop the disinformation. The mayor of Springfield has repeatedly stated that there is no evidence of the conspiracy.

“This discussion just has to stop,” DeWine said. “We have to focus on moving forward, not on dogs and cats being eaten. This is just ridiculous.”

The Trump campaign is organizing a visit to Springfield, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Sunday. Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who now serves as a surrogate for the Trump campaign, also announced on Sunday that he would hold a town hall meeting in Springfield on Thursday.

Trump pushed the conspiracy theories most heavily when he debated Vice President Kamala Harris last Tuesday, and Vance continued to defend that argument.

“The American media completely ignored this issue until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said Sunday on CNN's “State of the Union.” “If I have to make up stories to get the American media to actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do.”

Following Trump and Vance's comments, Springfield schools received bomb threats, prompting evacuations and temporary closures. Wittenberg University in Springfield canceled all Sunday events after receiving email threats about a possible shooting of Haitians on campus.

With 51 days to go before the November election, these conspiracy theories have led Trump and Vance to spend their campaign season trying to protect themselves from backlash in a state that was considered safe Republican territory this election season.

“He will succeed in Ohio,” DeWine said. “I think he's always better off talking about the issues that really affect Americans.”