JD Vance says he does not regret spreading baseless rumors of migrants eating pets

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance said Sunday he did not regret spreading baseless rumors that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, and that amplifying the claims drew media attention to his and former President Donald Trump's criticisms of U.S. border policies.

"If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people then that's what I'm going to do," Vance told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

Officials in the small town of Springfield, Ohio have called these accounts untrue and a woman behind a Facebook post that sparked the rumor has since said she did not have firsthand knowledge.

Trump, the GOP White House nominee, brought up the claims during the debate last week with Vice President Kamala, the Democratic nominee. The claim has led to threatening calls and bomb threats in Springfield.

Vance, a U.S. senator from Ohio, dismissed any suggestion that Trump's comments had caused the threats, which led to the evacuation of three schools.

He said he and Trump were standing up for the residents who are worried about the influx of roughly 15,000 Haitians to the town of roughly 58,000 people over the last three years.

"Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence? We can condemn the violence on the one hand, but also talk about the terrible consequences of Kamala Harris's open border on the other hand," Vance said.

"We created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris' policies," he added.

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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday denounced claims promoted by Trump, however, calling the rumors "hurtful" and "not helpful."

"There's a lot of garbage on the internet and this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true, there's no evidence of this at all," DeWine, a Republican, told ABC's "This Week."

Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck said there was no evidence of any dogs, cats or other pets being harmed or eaten by Haitian immigrants. Local leaders have credited the city's economic and development rebound in party to the population growth fueled by Haitian immigrants.

"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," Heck said in a statement.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vice presidential candidate JD Vance defends pushing pet-eating rumor