Trump and Vance lie to stir supporters to commit acts of violence
“They” should not be coming after anyone. There is no place
in our democracy for violence, nor for threats of violence.
Which brings me to Trump’s claim in last week’s debate that
Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are “eating the dogs … eating the
cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
It quickly became a vast internet joke, fueling thousands of
hilarious memes and songs. But it’s no laughing matter. Trump’s claim has
already provoked threats of violence.
After JD Vance first began spreading baseless rumors about
Haitians in Springfield, members of the neo-Nazi group “Blood Tribe” marched into the city carrying guns,
wearing body armor, and carrying Neo-Nazi flags. At an August 27 town hall meeting, one claimed that the
city had been taken over by “degenerate third worlders,” blamed Jews for the
influx, and warned that “crime and savagery will only increase with every
Haitian you allow in.”
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| For Trump, it's all about hate |
Springfield’s Haitian immigrants say they are afraid. Some
have kept their children home from school, fearing
violence. Others have reported harassment on the street, in their cars, and at
stores. A Springfield family whose son died last year when the bus in which he
was riding accidentally collided with a car driven by a Haitian immigrant has
pleaded for Trump and Vance to stop using their deceased son for political
purposes.
Yet Trump and JD Vance are doubling down. Yesterday, before
the attempt on Trump’s life, Vance said on CNN that
the claims about Haitians eating the pets of Springfield residents came from
“firsthand accounts from my constituents.” When interviewer Dana Bash suggested
that the claims had caused bomb threats, Vance called her a “Democratic propagandist.”
But the connection is indisputable.
Rather than offhand comments, Trump’s and Vance’s claims are
calculated. Trump’s last two posts on Truth Social before the debate were AI
images of cats and ducks — one depicting cats in military fatigues carrying
assault rifles and wearing MAGA hats, the other showing the candidate himself
sitting on a plane amid a crowd of ducks and cats.
Trump is now talking about holding a rally in Springfield.
“We’re going to get these people out,” Trump said in a Friday
news conference. Although Springfield’s Haitian immigrants are in the United
States legally, he promised to stage “the largest deportation in the history of
our country” if reelected.
Trump’s and Vance’s claims are completely bogus. Ohio’s
Republican governor, Mike DeWine, told CBS News on
Wednesday that “these Haitians came in here to work because there were jobs,
and they filled a lot of jobs. And if you talk to employers, they’ve done a
very, very good job and they work very, very hard.”
Another of Trump’s bogus claims is now threatening legal
immigrants in Aurora, Colorado, a Denver suburb that Trump has repeatedly
asserted is being “taken over” by Venezuelan criminals. “Simply not true,”
Aurora’s Republican mayor and city council member wrote in a joint statement.
As in Springfield, Trump’s baseless claims are harming
innocent people in Aurora. Immigrants there say they have
been told their nationality makes them ineligible for jobs or housing. Trump’s
claims have led to threats and drawn armed groups to the city, claiming to
offer vigilante-style protection.
Trump and Vance are using the oldest of tyrannical ploys —
fueling deep-seated fears by creating an “other” — depicted as subhuman — who
“take over” towns and “devour” loved ones.
In Springfield, the loved ones are peoples’ pets. But how
far is this bogus claim from vicious Nazi claims of Jews devouring children?
Substitute “Jew” for “Haitian” in Springfield or for “Venezuelan” in Aurora,
and you’re back to the Nazis of the 1930s.
In demonizing and dehumanizing migrants, Trump and Vance are
not just seeking to win over a few wavering voters across the nation or making
a play for control of the Senate. They are trying to scare America into
becoming a more fearsome, more racist nation.
“They’re poisoning the blood of our country,” Trump said of immigrants at a rally in New
Hampshire eight months ago, virtually quoting Adolf Hitler (who wrote in Mein
Kampf that “All great cultures of the past perished only because the
originally creative race died out from blood poisoning.”)
In a last-ditch effort to prevail in their campaign, Trump
and Vance are encouraging the haters. On September 10, Vance told his
followers to “keep the cat memes flowing,” notwithstanding that they were
endangering people in his own state.
Meanwhile, members of Trump’s social media war room —
including Trump confidante Laura Loomer (known for sexist, homophobic,
transphobic, anti-Muslim, and antisemitic posts) — are busily spreading
AI-generated images of dogs and cats being protected by Trump, along with other
content promoting the claim that the pets were being eaten by Haitians.
Let me repeat: There no justification whatsoever for
violence or threats of violence in our democracy. While utterly despicable,
yesterday’s second apparent assassination attempt on Trump can be seen as a
symptom of the hate-filled politics he and Vance are peddling.
This must stop.
