Source: Brandon Bell / Getty
Republican nominee Donald Trump went after Haitian migrants again at a campaign rally with more outright lies.
False claims about Haitian migrants in the town of Springfield, Ohio have been advanced by former President Donald Trump once again, this time with more sinister overtones. The Republican presidential nominee held a campaign rally in Savannah, Georgia on Tuesday (September 24) at the Johnny Mercer Theatre. In what’s been increasingly a feature at these rallies, Trump talked about the crowd size being 5,000 to 6,000 people – in truth, it was 2,500 in attendance. He also spoke about the migrants again in a disparaging rant.
“With left-wing nonprofits to inundate Pennsylvania communities, changing the character of small towns and villages all over our country, and changing them forever,” Trump said. “They will never be the same. They will never be. Do you think Springfield will ever be the same? I don’t think so. The fact is — and I’ll say it now — you have to get them the hell out. You have to get them out. I’m sorry,” he continued, adding: “You have to get them out. Can’t have it. Can’t have it. They’ve destroyed it. It’s terrible.” The audience cheered during the speech, which also saw Trump talking about his administration bringing a “manufacturing renaissance” and bringing back millions of jobs to the U.S. “Did you ever hear that expression before? Have you ever heard that we’re going to take other countries’ jobs? It’s never been stated before,” he said.
Trump has leaned heavily on the false claims about Haitians who’ve settled in Springfield, Ohio, expressing it in his debate against Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris – a claim first advanced by his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance. These claims of Haitians eating the dogs and cats of fellow town members sparked a wave of outrage since the disastrous debate, with many Haitian-Americans holding protest rallies across the country. It has also led to the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) advocacy group filing a criminal complaint against Trump and Vance, alleging that their amplifying the false claims led to heightened danger against the Haitian community in Springfield resulting in at least 33 bomb threats being called in against schools and other city structures. “Trump and Vance’s lies have harmed the Springfield community, and their lies have violated criminal law,” said the statement filed with the complaint. The Trump campaign team has not commented to the press.