J. D. Vance (photo, left) just keeps getting more odious.
The man who wants to replace America’s democratic elites with an unelected conservative ruling elite that would impose unpopular policies on the American people (see story here) is unapologetic for the mayhem he unleashed on Springfield, Ohio (see story here).
He says he made up the story about Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets to call media attention to immigration, which he apparently feels isn’t being covered enough in the news, even though the subject has dominated political news in recent years.
The story about pets, which Trump repeated in his debate with Harris, is false. The claim that the Haitian immigrants are “illegals” also is false; they are legal immigrants working in local factory jobs. Even Ohio’s Republican governor called it “a piece of garbage” (see story here).
None of this bothers Vance; nor is he alarmed that his “story” has provoked at least 33 bomb threats that prompted evacuations and shut down the city’s schools for several days, and have diverted large law enforcement resources away from other duties to protect the schools (see story here).
Instead, “Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Vance demanded an apology from the media and Democrats who pointed the finger at him and Trump” for instigating the bomb threats” (see story here).
Predictably, this provoked a backlash. One critic said, “You started this. … You aren’t owed an apology, you’re owed an impeachment.” Another said he should apologize “to Haitian immigrants legally living in Springfield for threatening their lives. … You’re a LIAR.”
A German journalist told Vance’s communications director, “The threats began with Vance and Trump’s lies and are terrorizing a city of 70,000 people. They would not have happened out of the blue; it’s fake Vance, not fake media.”
All of the above. Vance is a liar, and his lying and Trump repeating the lie have terrorized an entire city. Vance is a sick man, perhaps reflecting his abusive childhood. He doesn’t belong in political leadership, but if he and Trump lose the 2024 election, he’ll still be a senator.
Maybe Ohio voters will have had enough of him when he comes up for re-election, and will send him back to the Silicon Valley gutters he crawled out of.
Related story: The GOP candidate in Ohio’s 2024 Senate election says the Haitian immigrants should be deported, despite their legal status and the fact they did nothing wrong (see story here).