When former President Donald Trump got on the presidential debate stage earlier this month and baselessly accused Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, of eating their neighbors’ pets, it was largely seen as the moment he lost the debate to Vice President Kamala Harris. After all, the rumors had already been proved false by local and state leaders, many of them fellow Republicans.
But instead of backtracking or apologizing, Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), ramped up the attacks. In the weeks following the debate, Vance would repeat the racist lie so many times that Springfield schools received bomb threats and Haitian immigrants lived in constant fear of intimidation and assault because they suddenly had a target on their backs.
Vance and Trump went on to accuse Haitian immigrants of being responsible for an increase of crime and a housing shortage, and their lies began to spread like a nasty infection. Now officials in Pennsylvania, Indiana and Alabama are combating an uptick in threats and hatred toward the Haitian immigrants who have long been part of their communities ― much of which is spreading from unchecked rumors and misinformation online.