Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday ripped Donald Trump's repeated bashing of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, saying the former president was "spewing lies grounded in tropes."
"It's a crying shame. Literally," Harris said in her most extensive remarks to date about her Republican opponent's baseless claims.
"I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community in Springfield, Ohio, and it’s got to stop,” she said during a discussion hosted by the National Association of Black Journalists.
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The city has been hit with dozens of bomb threats, some at elementary schools, after Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, promoted false rumors that immigrants were eating residents' pet dogs and cats.
"I mean, my heart breaks for this community. You know there were children, elementary school children," who had to be evacuated on what was supposed to be school picture day, Harris said.
"A whole community put in fear," she added.
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During last week's presidential debate, which was viewed by more than 67 million people, Trump said: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Harris said of Trump on Tuesday, "When you have that kind of microphone in front of you, you really ought to understand how much your words have meaning."
"You say you care about law enforcement? Law enforcement resources being put into this because of these serious threats," Harris said.
"The American people deserve and, I do believe, want better than this," she added.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Harris' remarks.
Vance, speaking at an event in Michigan, said he and Trump are not to blame for the threats to Springfield.
"The governor of Ohio came out yesterday and said every single one of those bomb threats was a hoax, and all of those bomb threats came from foreign countries. So the American media for three days has been lying and saying that Donald Trump and I are inciting bomb threats when, in reality, the American media has been laundering for this information. It is disgusting," he said Tuesday.
In his statement Monday, Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said that "many of these threats are coming from overseas," but he did not say all of them originated abroad. He also announced he was deploying dozens of state troopers to help sweep schools.
DeWine was in Springfield on Tuesday and visited elementary school students accompanied by a therapy dog.
In an interview with ABC News on Sunday, DeWine said the immigrants in Springfield are there legally, that there is no evidence that they have been eating pets and that the conspiracy theories were “garbage.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, a Republican, told reporters Tuesday that school attendance is down and that "there's a high level of fear in our community," which has been plagued by threats to government offices, as well.
“We did not have threats seven days ago," Rue said, referring to the Sept. 10 presidential debate, at which Trump amplified the baseless claims.
"We need those on the national stage to stop this and tell the truth," he said.
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