Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee co-chair and daughter-in-law of Donald Trump, defended the Trump campaign’s lies about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.
Given that the rumors amplified last week by the Trump-Vance campaign have been repeatedly discredited by Springfield police and local government officials, Fox News’s Howard Kurtz asked, “Do you now accept, based on what local officials say, that this is untrue?”
“It’s not up to me to decide that,” Lara Trump replied. “This information came directly from the people of Springfield. No one at our campaign—Donald Trump didn’t make this up himself. You heard from people at a city council meeting, I believe, that they were very concerned about what’s going on,” she continued, referring back to rumors roundly debunked by those on the ground in Springfield.
“I think it’s a shame that people are trying to discredit the impact that the illegal immigration in this country has had on towns like Springfield, Ohio,” she added—a sentiment that runs against remarks made by Ohio’s Trump-supporting Republican Governor, Mike DeWine, that same day. DeWine called the smears against the Haitian Springfield residents “garbage,” adding, “They’re here legally, and they want to work, and they are, in fact, working.”
Lara Trump was not the only member of Team Trump asked to answer for the campaign’s lies this weekend. J.D. Vance told CNN’s Dana Bash, “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.”
The demonization of the Haitian residents in Springfield has given rise to threats against government offices, public schools, and hospitals.
Kurtz: Do you accept what local officials say this is untrue.
— Acyn (@Acyn) September 15, 2024
Lara Trump: It is not up to me to decide that, this information came directly from the people of Springfield. No one at our campaign— Donald Trump did not make this up himself. pic.twitter.com/GvKH9NdLNO
