DISCLAIMER: This article was first published on September 11, 2024.
I have to ask: Why watch ordinary, everyday TV shows when we have J.D. Vance for entertainment? Especially when we watch him being cornered by Yamiche Alcindor, NBC News’s Washington correspondent. And especially when he blames Vice President Kamala Harris for “opening the border” when the border has been open from the get-go.
He was also all ermahgerd, them Haitians eating pets. Yes, the Trump campaign is still running on this ridiculously abhorrent and racist nonsense. He tried to talk nonstop, perhaps to prevent Alcindor from asking deeper questions, but she wasn’t having it.
She pointedly asked him “What do you say to Haitian-Americans, Haitian immigrants who say spreading false claims has put their lives at risk?”
At that point, Vance was in deflect mode, and claimed “no one has spread false claims.” Um, yes they have, including his prospective boss Donald Trump. Vance then blamed the “small migrant community” in Springfield, Ohio, land of the dumb and largely baseless claims.
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“It’s led to higher rates of communicable diseases. That’s a verifiable fact,” he said without providing any “verifiable” facts. He then cited a laundry list of other problems this community has purportedly caused, and again, all of this remained fact-free.
“It’s led to animals disappearing. many of my constituents have said that is happening. It’s led to higher home prices (say what?) That is a verifiable fact.”
Again with that word. Jeesh.
At that point, he tried to blame the Haitian community for higher poverty rates but Alcindor knee-capped him. Fortunately. She jumped in to remind him that the claims of immigrants chowing down on pets are not true, which left Vance flustered and annoyed since he was mid-rant.
“City officials have said that’s not true. That’s not actually accurate, what they’ve said, and once again Alcindor headed him off at the pass.
“The Springfield City manager has said that there’s no evidence that immigrants are eating animals, and even Donald Trump has said on stage that they are eating animals,” she reminded a clearly annoyed Vance, who complained about being interrupted.
“The city manager said that there’s no verifiable evidence, a lot of residents on the ground have said that there is [evidence]. That just means, I think, that the city manager isn’t fully in touch with what’s going on with the ground there. I’ve heard from many of my own constituents who have seen these things with their own eyes, seen these abductions with their own eyes, and seen geese being taken out of local parks and slaughtered in front of their own eyes.”
This is almost an incomprehensible level of stupid. Yes, strangers eat pets from time to time. I had a friend who was American who ate cats from time to time. That bothered me enough that I didn’t stay friends with him for long. I’m someone who resides with 11 cats, two dogs, and a rabbit. You don’t want your pets to be eaten, keep them in the damned house. Pay attention to your dogs when they are outside.
Really folks, it’s quite simple.
I’ve lived in Louisiana where they eat everything that isn’t fossilized — armadillos, alligators, opossums, and I now live in Central America where they eat spider monkeys and Pacas (a large relative of guinea pigs). Each and every one of my cats are kept indoors and so is the bunny. We almost always know where our dogs are and they are brought in at night, after we learned a heartbreaking lesson when one of our dogs was killed by a terciopelo (otherwise known as the fer-de-lance, a highly venomous snake.)
Trump and Vance are making this “immigrants gobbling up pets” a major part of their campaign platform. If that doesn’t signal that these two are going down, and going down hard, then I don’t know what does.
This is not just stupid, this is “I’m desperate and I know I’m losing” stupid. And the fact that people can be so cruel to Haitians who are simply trying to better their lives disgusts me. That’s all these people are trying to do.
I’ve included a clip of the Alcindor/Vance boxing match below.
My Q to @JDVance last night in Philly: What do you say to Haitian Americans and Haitian immigrants who say spreading false claims about them puts their lives at risk?
Our full exchange on video. pic.twitter.com/S0NG02Ci2S
— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) September 11, 2024
And I’m also including X (formerly Twitter) users’ insightful comments.
Thank you Yamiche for not letting him wiggle out of the question.
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) September 11, 2024
What strikes me is that Vance doesn’t consider immigrants living in communities he represents to be his constituents, even though they are here legally. Apparently he only represents the white ones. Too bad you didn’t get to ask what he’ll do about the problems he described.
— Office of Unintended Consequences (@goodjane) September 11, 2024
Those Haitians are here legally, my dude.
— Enough Alrighty (@enough_alrighty) September 11, 2024
Imagine if JD put this much concern to kids being slaughtered in school shootings.
— Unsupervised Troublemaker 🇺🇸🦅 (@Spilled_Over) September 11, 2024
Since when do Republicans believe that invading hordes of diseased, pet-eating immigrants RAISE housing prices?
Don't they traditionally claim they lower property values?
— ClaudiaMontagueRidesAgain! (@MsMegara) September 11, 2024
Featured image via Political Tribune gallery
