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By Willie Brown
“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.”
These are the actual words spewed out of the mouth of a man hoping to become Vice President of the United States! Can you believe it? Yes, JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, actually admitted to the world on Monday that he lied about Haitian migrants stealing and eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio to draw attention to immigration problems.
He said this with a straight face, and not an ounce of remorse, regret or embarrassment.
Trump told the same lie in a televised debate last week, and even doubled down after moderator David Muir called him out on the nonsense. It may be a ploy by Trump and Vance to make political rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, look weak on immigration, but to Springfield residents, it’s a nightmare.
It was the week from hell for officials forced to clean up Trump’s mess. Since the pet hoax began, the city has experienced at least 33 bomb threats against Haitians, which has led to school evacuations. Widespread fear and hate has gripped the city.
Despite Springfield police and city manager debunking the lie that Haitian migrants are harming people’s pets, the lie continues to spread like wildfire. The quality of life has plummeted. The annual CultureFest celebration has been cancelled. Parents are afraid to send their children to school. The city’s resources, which were already tight due to the influx of 15,000 migrants, are now stretched to the limit in the predominately white, blue-collar city of about 60,000.
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said seven days ago (before the debate), his city didn’t have concerns about bomb threats. Now Springfield is spending “hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars” to keep residents safe and violence at bay. The Proud Boys, a White Supremacist group is patrolling the streets interrogating the Haitian community, spreading hatred and racism.
While the chaos continues in Springfield, Trump has managed to escape without consequences. This is his tactic. Tell a big lie, start a fire, fan the flame. Then, move on and start another fire somewhere else. Last week he peddled the lie about Haitians eating people’s pets. This week, the lie is that President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris are responsible for the recent assassination attempt on his life by a shooter who tried to take him out at his golf course in Florida. He blames it on their “rhetoric.”
Never mind that Trump has been repeatedly warned by Secret Service not to have events in open outdoor spaces because it makes it harder for them to protect him. So now, he has put a target on the backs of Biden and Harris, as well as Haitians.
Once again, victims are left to refute his false claims and clean up his mess. Trump has a lie for every news cycle. It doesn’t matter what he says or how many people he hurts as long as the attention stays on him.
Here we have a 78 year-old toddler, sticking his proverbial finger in every pie, turning everything upside down, creating messes everywhere he goes, leaving adults to clean up after him. As much as I love the enthusiasm and positive energy surrounding Vice President Harris’ campaign, I’m weary of this election season.
November 5th can’t come soon enough for me. Enough is enough!
