Last night, John Oliver went into great detail about how JD Vance created the Springfield, Ohio pet-eating panic out of “nothing” — and Vance knew it. Via the Daily Beast:
“It turns out not long after his first post about Haitians eating pets, his campaign actually called the Springfield city manager, who remembers Vance’s staff asked point-blank: ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’ and he said: ‘I told him no.’”
Oliver added: “So Vance knew it was a lie this whole time. But instead of just admitting that. he and his campaign have been scrambling to dig up new bulls–t evidence—all of which either bears no resemblance to the claims he’s made, or falls apart at the slightest scrutiny.”
And to literally add insult to injury, Vance also spread rumors that Haitians were spreading communicable diseases such as TB and HIV, and insinuating that an 11-year-old Springfield boy who died in a school bus accident had actually been murdered by a Haitian. The boy’s parents have pleaded for their son’s death not to be exploited, even addressing the city council the night of the presidential debate.
“The last thing we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces,” Aiden’s father said on Sept. 10, chastising Vance and Trump for making it seem as though their son would encourage hatred toward their neighbors.
