CNN’s Dana Bash aggressively fact-checked Sen. JD Vance’s repeated debunked claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio on Sunday. After Vance said that “it’s shameful” no one “cared about” claims that people were eating geese in Springfield, Bash replied, “And yet, Senator, the mayor [and] other officials have said there’s just no evidence of what you’re saying, that it’s baseless, those claims.”
Vance specifically took credit for popularizing the story, trying to connect the story with isolated incidents of immigrants committing murder, telling Bash, “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes.”
Bash tried to interrupt to note that their claims aren’t just memes, but Vance kept talking and adding, “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, Dana.”
The CNN anchor again interrupted, pointing out, “You just said that you’re creating the story.” In a long, awkward pause, Vance said nothing and asked Bash to repeat herself, which she did multiple times, adding, “Sir, you just said that you’re creating the story. You just said that this is a story that you created, so the eating dogs and cats thing is not… accurate.”
Vance started talking before Bash had finished but argued that he didn’t mean he was making the story up, but instead, “Dana, it comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that ‘we’re creating a story’ meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it.”
The topic first kicked off after Bash asked, “There was a lot of attention, as you know, this week on former President Trump’s baseless claims about migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, claims you first shared online, Senator, earlier this week. Local authorities now say there have been no credible reports of migrants hurting pets or animals. And in fact, neo-Nazis are now taking credit, frankly, for pushing these rumors mainstream. Why are you continuing to double and triple down on these baseless claims?”
Vance insisted he’s heard from “multiple constituents” who have called 911 to complain that animals, including pets, were being eaten in the community — a racist trope that has been used against immigrant groups since the 19th century.
“I trust my constituents more than I do the American media that has shown no interest in what’s happened in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the internet, which is disgraceful that the American media ignored this town,” Vance continued.
Vance then blamed rival Kamala Harris and her role as vice president for an “open border” that has resulted in 20,000 immigrants being “dropped” into a “town of 40,000.”
“And we should be talking about why Kamala Harris has done this to this small town, and the media and the Democrats ignored it for an entire year,” Vance continued. The immigrant community in the town is filled with legal immigrants who were invited by the town to move there.
Bash replied, “And yet, Senator, the mayor, other local officials have said there’s just no evidence of what you’re saying, that it’s baseless, those claims.” As Vance attempted to interject, she added, “Can’t you just make your argument about immigration without making those claims, Senator? Why not just make an argument about immigration? Why do you have to delve into repeating these baseless claims that, again Senator, have been repeated by neo-Nazis?”
Vance continues to place the burden of blame on Harris to support his unsubstantiated claims despite them being unrelated to her areas of responsibility. In 2021, Harris was asked by President Biden to head his administration’s campaign to understand the “root causes” of immigration from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to the United States. The responsibility to oversee and implement immigration policy at the U.S.-Mexico border, in particular, lies with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Bash also asked Vance why he has not opted to “be constructive” and help integrate immigrants coming to Ohio into the community instead of encouraging lies. Vance opted to ignore the question and went on to tackle objections Bash had noted from the Springfield mayor himself, who pointed to the fact that schools had to be closed due to bomb threats following Vance and Trump popularizing these claims.
“Dana, first of all, let me just respond to a couple of things that you said, but I want to start with something you said, which I think is frankly disgusting and is more appropriate for a Democratic propagandist than it is for an American journalist,” Vance began. “These hospitals, the bomb threats and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence —” Vance continued before Bash interjected, “Senator, this happened after you and President Trump were on the debate stage, said that cats and dogs were being eaten.”
Vance also insisted that immigrants who are in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status designation are in the country illegally — a claim that is untrue. Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, is a legal immigration designation that gives people permission to live and work in the country for a period of time without fear of deportation. TPS is offered to immigrants who come to the U.S. from countries from which it is unsafe to return due to war or natural disasters.
“You might not agree with the policy and obviously you don’t, which is totally fair and legitimate. There are policy disagreements all the time. But the fact is it is the law,” Bash replied. In 2022, President Biden broadened TPS to allow nearly 1 million people to opt into the designation.
Bash then attempted to reroute the conversation, shouting over a filibustering Vance, but in response, Vance attempted to shame her for fact-checking his answers as he gave them.
“Dana, would you like to ask me questions and then let me answer them? Or would you like to debate me on these topics?” Vance asked, before asserting, “I noticed that when you had Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple-choice answers to the questions that you asked, and you allowed them to answer the questions.”
“I think that if Kamala Harris and Tim Walts were making unsubstantiated claims that had racist undertones about people eating dogs and cats, and they didn’t answer the questions about that, then I would have similar interactions with them,” Bash replied.
Bash also asked Vance about Trump’s close relationship with conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, and specifically about Loomer’s racist comments about Harris making “the White House smell like curry.”
“She is someone who says she supports white nationalism. She’s spread conspiracy theories, including that the September 11th attacks are an inside job,” Bash said of Loomer. “She recently said that Kamala Harris, whose mother was Indian, if she wins in November, quote, ‘The White House will smell like curry.’ Senator, you are married to an Indian-American woman. What was your reaction to hearing those comments specifically?”
“Look, Laura Loomer is not affiliated with the Trump campaign. She said something about curry in the White House that I first read about this morning actually, because I knew that you would ask me about it,” Vance answered. “Look, Kristen, I make a mean chicken curry. I don’t think that it’s insulting for anybody to talk about their dietary preferences or what they want to do in the White House.”
Vance then tossed in his own racist trope to illustrate his point. “I also don’t think that this is actually an issue of national import. Is Laura Loomer running for president? No, Kamala Harris is running for President. And whether you’re eating curry at your dinner table or fried chicken, things have gotten more expensive thanks to her policies. Let’s talk about the person running for president of the United States, not a social media personality who supports Donald Trump.”
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