JD Vance Is Not Backing Down From False Claim About Immigrants Eating Pets

GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance has continued to push debunked, false claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and eating their neighbors pets.

In response to a question by NBC News Yamiche Alcindor  following the debate on Tuesday night, the Ohio senator said the small migrant community was responsible for several problems the blue-collar Clark County city is facing, including the disappearance of animals, even though police and city officials say theres no evidence to back that up .

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck told  ABC News there are no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.

Hecks statement, though, was not enough to stop Vance from doubling down on his claims.

The city manager said theres no verifiable evidence. A lot of residents on the ground have said that there is, Vance told Alcindor. That just means the city manager I think isnt fully in touch with whats going on in the ground there. Ive heard from many of my own constituents who have seen these things with their own eyes, whove seen these abductions with their own eyes, whove seen geese being taken out of local parks and slaughtered in front of their eyes.

Earlier on Tuesday, a White House national security spokesperson blasted Vances comments, adding that this kind of disinformation is dangerous because there will be people that believe it no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is.

This didnt stop former President Donald Trump from embracing the racist lie, bringing it up during the debate  against Vice President Kamala Harris , and also amplifying it on this Truth Social account.

In Springfield, theyre eating the dogs, Trump said. The people that came in, theyre eating the cats. Theyre eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is whats happening in our country. And its a shame.

ABCs David Muir, one of the moderators of the debate, repeatedly fact-checked Trumps claims, citing Hecks statement.

The people on television say my dog was taken and used for food. So maybe he said that and maybe thats a good thing to say for a city manager, Trump replied.