Springfield city officials declined to take call with Vance amid baseless claims about Haitian migrants

[groundloop]

Source: ABC News

Springfield, Ohio, city officials declined to take a call with former President Donald Trump's running mate Ohio Sen. JD Vance earlier this month, as the Trump campaign continued to spread unsubstantiated claims that Haitian immigrants were terrorizing the community by eating pets, according to emails obtained by ABC News.

The emails, obtained through a public records request, shed light on the contentious relationship between the city and the Ohio senator as officials have had to repeatedly debunk unfounded claims promoted in viral social media posts and by the Trump campaign about Haitian migrants in the city. Springfield city leaders have said the baseless claims have led to dozens of bomb threats and other threats of violence targeting the Haitian community that have forced Springfield law enforcement officials to evacuate schools, hospitals and other city facilities.

In one email obtained by ABC News dated Sep. 17, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told Vance's acting state director James Coyne that he and other city leaders were declining to join a call after the senator's office invited "third parties" to join who Vance's team said had "first-hand experiences" with how the influx of Haitian migrants in Springfield was affecting their lives.

[.....]

A Springfield city spokesperson said officials initially believed they were scheduling a private call between Vance, Rue and Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck. "We later learned that they wanted to bring some constituents (without providing their names or how they selected them) into what was initially portrayed as a private call. We decided that it was in our best interest to decline," Springfield's Strategic Engagement Manager Karen Graves told ABC News in a statement. "While we appreciated them reaching out to us, we felt the scope of the initial invitation changed and this went from an opportunity to have an honest discussion to us potentially being drawn into more politicalization."



Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/springfield-city-officials-declined-call-vance-amid-baseless/story?id=114216453

[Hekate]

1. Smart move on the mayor's part to decline the ambush

[notroot]

2. DAMN!! This is a MUST READ. Damning fuckwaddery.

[notroot]

3. Viva Springfield!!!

Keep showing America how to be decent people, again.

[sheshe2]

4. Thank you, Springfield.

Thank you for standing with all the people of your city against the lies that are being spread.

During a Sunday interview on CNN, the Ohio senator and Republican vice presidential nominee said his evidence for this claim was "the first-hand accounts of my constituents." He then went on to defend the dissemination of this false story.

“The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes," Sen. Vance said. "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."

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/15/nx-s1-5113140/vance-false-claims-haitian-migrants-pets

[EYESORE 9001]

11. A corollary to shadypants' highlighted words

‘If the people aren’t suffering already, I’ll make sure they do suffer before I'm done’

[ret5hd]

5. Take the call...only speak in Creole and French.

[ZonkerHarris]

6. Vance: "You guys are Republicans. You're supposed to have our backs." Springfield: "We could say the same to you."

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

7. Find out who the "third parties" are

[SouthBayDem]

8. The Springfield mayor is a Republican.

I gotta wonder how many Springfield residents now regret voting for Jim Shady in 2022.

[bobalew]

9. Springfield's city government should

Send Trump & Vance’s campaign the bill for the costs of all these avoidable mishaps & threats. Acountability!

[SouthBayDem]

15. As if Trump ever honored any IOU? nt

[Marcuse]

10. JD creates a story for his MAGA constituents.

"Our intention in inviting some of these constituents to join the call was to help facilitate a dialogue between residents we have heard from with first-hand experiences and city officials to help him contextualize their perspective with yours,"

[C Moon]

12. If you look at all the headlines regarding the gop in this election...

all you see are lies and attempts at cheating voters in November.
They have nothing else.
Why the fuck the gop back that liar? I guess the gop only weighs the dollars they can bring in.

[70sEraVet]

13. Vance was looking to turn that call into a campaign ad!!

Vance is desperate. He knows that when tsf is defeated in November, he will publicly blame Vance for the loss. And Vance will be treated as a pariah in the GOP.

[PedroXimenez]

14. the mayor smelled a rat

no one trusts these people, they don't event trust each other.

[Boomerproud]

16. What a manipulative you know what.

Still trying to make a story out of a fake rumor and not accepting any responsibility for the harm it caused.

[republianmushroom]

17. Springfield city officials have more class then Vance or the

convicted felon.