Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says baseless claims about Haitian immigrants are 'garbage'

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Sunday decried former President Donald Trump's baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and other pets as "garbage," but stopped short of directly condemning the former president and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance, for spreading the false claims.

“There’s a lot of garbage on the internet. You know, this is a piece of garbage that was simply not true. There’s no evidence of this at all,” DeWine said during an interview on ABC’s “This Week” when asked whether it’s responsible for Trump to push those false claims.

Asked what he would say to Trump after pointing out that there is no truth to his claims on Haitian immigrants, DeWine condemned hate groups that have marched in Springfield as part of a hate campaign against Haitian immigrants, before going on to praise Haitians as hard-working people who have brought “positive influences” to the town.

“Hate groups coming into Springfield, we don’t need these hate groups,” he said. “I saw a piece of literature yesterday that the mayor told me about from purportedly the KKK. Springfield is a good city. They are good people. They’re welcoming people. We have challenges every day. We’re working on those challenges.”

“Haitians are — culturally, my wife Fran and I have seen this when we’ve been down in Haiti — education is prized,” he added. “So when you look at all of these things, people who want to work, people who value their kids, who value education, you know, these are positive influences on our community in Springfield, and any comment about that otherwise, I think, is hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield.”

Recent bomb threats in Springfield prompted closures of schools and municipal buildings last week amid widespread scrutiny the town is facing over false rumors of Haitian migrants stealing and eating household pets.

Pressed on whether there is a connection between the bomb threats and the baseless claims that Trump and Vance are spreading online, DeWine called for discussions about those claims to stop, but did not directly criticize Trump or Vance for amplifying the right-wing conspiracies.

“I think these discussions about Haitians eating dogs and cats and other things needs to stop,” he said. “We need to focus on what is important. What is important is that we get primary care health to everyone in a very growing city, that we do other things in regard to housing. These are kind of basic things that we need to do. We need to focus on those and not these.”

DeWine noted that many of the Haitian immigrants in Springfield came there legally under federal programs as refugees who fled political turmoil in their country and that they have helped boost the state’s economy as workers.

“This discussion about Haitians eating dogs is just not helpful,” he said. “And again, these people are here legally. They’re here legally, and they want to work, and they are, in fact, working. And when you talk to the employers, what the employers tell you is, you know, we don’t know what we would do without them. They are working, and they’re working very hard.”

DeWine, however, stood by his endorsement of Trump when asked about whether his support of the former president has softened in light of his false claims.

“I’ve said before we knew who the nominee was going to be, I would support the Republican nominee for president,” he said. “I am a Republican. I think if you look at the economy issues, and these are issues that I think the American people are most concerned about, I think that Donald Trump is the best choice.”

Trump pushed the baseless claim about Haitian immigrants in Springfield during the presidential debate against Vice President Kamala Harris last week, arguing that Springfield is an example of the detrimental effects of immigration as a result of Harris’ immigration policies.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue has slammed the false claims and urged the public, especially prominent public figures, against amplifying them further.

“Springfield is a beautiful community, and your pets are safe in Springfield, Ohio,” Rue told MSNBC’s “Katy Tur Reports” last week. “We’ve made that known publicly, and we’re asking people to understand and believe the reports that we’re sharing with them.”

“We need those that have a national stage that have a mic, with millions and millions (of followers), we need them to understand what their words are doing to cities like Springfield, Ohio,” he added. “What we need is help. We don’t need this misinformation.”

Vance on Sunday pushed back on claims that the fringe online conspiracy of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets is false, claiming that he has heard concerns from constituents on the matter.

“I hear you saying that they’re baseless, but I’m not repeating them because I invented them out of thin air,” Vance said during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet The Press.”

Trump’s running mate doubled down on those comments in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” later Sunday, saying, “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.”

Pressed for clarification, Vance reiterated that he heard firsthand accounts from his constituents.

“I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it,” he said on CNN.

Vance also dismissed comments from local officials urging against spreading the false claims aimed at Haitian immigrants in Springfield in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Asked about what he has done to help DeWine with his request for federal assistance as the influx of thousands of migrants in recent years strains the state’s health system, Vance sought to blame Harris, whom Biden in 2021 tasked with addressing the root causes of migration at the southern border, for her policies.

“Well, the most important thing that we can do to assist Governor DeWine and the whole state of Ohio, and frankly, the whole country, Margaret, is to stop Kamala Harris’ open border,” he said. “And for two years, I’ve been fighting for policies that do exactly that.”

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com