Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance laid into the media for “debunking a story that comes from the residents of Springfield” on Monday, and urged journalists to listen “to people speak their truth,” after he was criticized for promoting unfounded allegations about Haitian migrants eating pets in Ohio.
“I wish the American media was half as interested in the stress on the local schools, the stress on the hospitals, and unaffordable housing as they are in debunking a story that comes from the residents of Springfield,” said Vance at a campaign rally in North Carolina, Monday.
He then questioned, “Did you ever think about listening to people speak their truth instead of listening to some bureaucrat and assuming that everything they tell you is true?”
Reacting to Vance’s remarks on CNN, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said, “I think it’s important to know just our governor has trusted the local government here because we are and we do know what’s going on, and we hear concerns about the community, but you know, we have told America that this story isn’t true.”