JD Vance defended his comments about Haitian immigrants eating pets during Tuesday’s protest, saying “the media has an obligation to fact-check” stories — not him.
The rally in Eau Claire, Wis., came two days after the Ohio senator told CNN host Dana Bash that it was OK to “make up stories” to draw attention to issues his constituents care about, regarding inflammatory and baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, in Ohio. , had eaten the residents’ pets.
The comments, in which he appeared to say that politicians can brazenly lie, drew immediate criticism. But during his rally, Vance defended them, claiming that several constituents had told him “they had seen something in Springfield.”
“Furthermore, if some people refuse to listen to those who refuse to take their concerns seriously,” he said, “then my job as a United States senator is to listen to my constituents.”
Vance answered reporters’ questions but repeatedly tapped the press, a line of attack that brought the crowd to its feet.
“When I said — and the media always does, they’re very dishonest — when I say I created a story, I’m talking about a media story focusing on the intent of the press on what happened in Springfield,” said. Vance.
In a speech to several hundred people, Vance spoke at length about immigration, citing a crime committed by an undocumented person in the city of Prairie du Chien that state Republicans have already seized on to bolster Republican claims that immigrants are violent. crimes. In fact, studies show that immigrants do not commit crimes more often than those born in the United States.
Related: JD Vance admits he’s willing to “make up stories” to get media attention
“Every community is a border state,” Vance said. “The problems that Kamala Harris has brought across that southern border of America have now spread nationwide.”
He also blamed the vice president for the recent apparent assassination attempt at Mar-a-Lago.
“The American media, the Democrats, the Kamala Harris campaign, they’ve got to cut this crap or they’re going to get somebody killed,” Vance said, arguing that Democrats have highlighted Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric and efforts to derail the 2020 election to blame for two apparent assassination attempts that Trump has faced so far during his 2024 campaign.
Vance described a chaotic, dark and violent vision of the US during the Harris presidency.
“We are currently closer to nuclear war or World War III than at any time in our country’s history, and we can thank the chaos and incompetence of Kamala Harris for that,” the Republican vice presidential nominee. said during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Vance’s message, especially on immigration, was well received by the crowd.
“You don’t know who’s coming across that border. You don’t know the violence or the background of those people,” said Victoria Bischel, who owns a farm and real estate business, and appreciated Vance’s comments. “I believe in immigration. I believe in legal immigration […] I don’t jump over the fence to Saudi Arabia and decide I want to live there.
