‘If I have to create stories… then that’s what I’m going to do’: Did JD Vance just admit he lied about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio?

Many of us still aren’t over Donald Trump’s wild claim that Haitian immigrants are eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, and rightly so. Not only is it completely bonkers, but it’s also completely untrue, and now his VP has admitted as much on live TV.

The Republican party has been on damage control in the days since the comment, but it’s not doing a whole lot of good. Prior to Trump making the claim during his debate with Kamala Harris, it was JD Vance who initially brought the supposed pet feasting to the public’s attention. On Sept. 15, Vance made an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union and was quizzed by host Dana Bash regarding his comments.

“Why are you putting [your constituents] at risk by continuing to spread claims about Haitian immigrants, despite officials in your state saying that there’s no evidence, and pleading for you to stop?”

Vance has refused to back down on the situation so far, and his response here was to continue to double down, claiming that his constituents had brought similar concerns including a supposed case where Haitian immigrants were taking geese from a park and eating them. He claimed that the American media were ignoring what was going on in Ohio until he and Trump started talking about it. Once again this was fact-checked and proven to be untrue.

JD Vance admits to lying

Bash asked Vance why he couldn’t do more to help integrate migrants into the community, rather than spread stories that lacked evidence. She then asked him to confirm that the rumor had no real evidence to back it up, to which Vance responded pretty much confirming it was all made up.

“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.”

I’m sure if it hadn’t been on live TV he would have asked to cut that bit out. He tries claiming that it’s all for the greater good like he’s helping American citizens by outright lying, but it’s kind of hard to see the logic here. When Bash repeated his last statement the VP got a little flustered, perhaps realizing he’d slipped up.

While there is no doubt Springfield has its issues, most of the city’s problems existed before the influx of Haitian migrants. And while their arrival may have put extra strain on an already struggling community, the federal government’s approach is more to blame for the declining situation. It sounds like Vance is taking the easy route here and using the migrants as a scapegoat to blame for the city’s wider problems. The American media are certainly talking about it now, but nobody’s talking about the real issues the city faces. 

Responses to Vance’s comments were met with outrage online as people were given yet another reason to passionately dislike Vance.

Others pointed out how he was endangering the Haitian community with his rhetoric and that he should resign.

There were some pretty funny memes too.

Either way, most sane people knew he was lying from the start, and the local police department debunked the rumor straight away. But still, to hear him admit to it, even if he tried to walk it back seconds later is pretty validating.