US President Joe Biden has called on his predecessor Donald Trump to stop his verbal attacks on migrants. “This has to stop,” said the Democrat at an event at the White House in Washington. The fact that Americans with Haitian roots are currently being attacked in this way is “simply wrong.” There is no place for this in America. “What he is doing has to stop.”
Republican presidential candidate Trump had accused migrants of eating pets. “In Springfield, they eat the dogs – the people who came here – they eat the cats. They eat the pets of the people who live there,” Trump said a few days ago during a TV debate against Democrat Kamala Harris in front of an audience of millions, without providing any evidence for the claim. Trump was referring to a statement made by his vice presidential candidate JD Vance, who had previously circulated the accusation that migrants from Haiti were stealing and eating pets in Springfield in his home state of Ohio.
According to US media, the authorities in Springfield are not aware of any such cases. In recent days, the city has received various bomb threats to public buildings. It was unclear whether this was related to the recent headlines. Springfield is a city with around 60,000 inhabitants in the Midwest of the USA.
A frustrated mayor
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said in several interviews with US media that the threats were a hateful reaction to immigration in the city. The high number of migrants poses major challenges for Springfield, but there is no truth in the allegations about pets. “It’s frustrating when national politicians on the national stage misrepresent what is actually going on and misrepresent our community,” he told the New York Times.
Trump’s vice president, Vance, recently admitted on Platform X with regard to his statements: “It is of course possible that all these rumors turn out to be false.” However, this does not stop him from repeating the claims.
In response to Vance’s comments, numerous Republicans – including Trump – have been posting images generated using artificial intelligence on social media for days, showing cats or geese – usually accompanied by calls for rescue and an appeal to vote for Trump.
The Republican said at a press conference in Los Angeles that if he won the election he would order “large-scale deportations” from Springfield. “We’re going to get the people out of there.” Trump evaded questions about why he continued to spread claims that had been clearly refuted.
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