Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio speaks to reporters in San Diego in front of the wall on the border with Mexico, Sept. 6, 2024.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images
A Biden administration official on Tuesday said it was “dangerous” for Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance of Ohio to promote a false conspiracy theory that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating other people’s pets.
The scathing criticism came as Vance admitted that “it’s possible” that the rumor he spread of pet eating by immigrants would turn out to be false, and as police in Springfield, Ohio, said they had no information to back up the conspiracy theory.
“What’s deeply concerning to us is you’ve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing, you know, yet another conspiracy theory that’s just seeking to divide people based on lies, and, let’s be honest, based on an element of racism,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, reacting to Vance’s initial claim of pet eating.
“This kind of language, this kind of disinformation, is, is dangerous because there will be people that believe it no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt,” Kirby said.
“So, it needs to stop,” he said.
Vance in a social media post on X on Monday shared a video of him speaking during a Senate committee hearing about a surge in Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio.
“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio,” Vance wrote in that tweet.
“Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” Vance wrote.
“Where is our border czar?” Vance said, referring to Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Vance and other Republicans have attacked Harris by claiming she is responsible for illegal immigration into the United States.
His tweet came a day before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump was due to debate Harris in Philadelphia.
Other leading Republicans, among them Trump’s son Donald Trump Jr. and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — also repeated the pet-eating claim on X.
Springfield Police on Monday said they had no information that substantiated “rumors” about Haitian immigrants and pets there.
“In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Springfield Police told NBC News in a statement.
On Tuesday, Vance in a new tweet wrote: “In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants.”
“It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false,” Vance wrote.
Vance is set Tuesday to attend fundraisers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania before participating in the spin room after the Trump-Harris debate.
