JD Vance, Springfield and how the MAGA media got a racist lie out of control

The community of Springfield has experienced significant shaking since Vance and Trump took a rumor from the far-right swamps, brought it to a national audience, and embroiled the city in a ridiculous national debate.

Bomb threats have occurred at local schools, colleges, churches and government buildings, prompting evacuations. The Proud Boys, a violent Trump gang, marched through the streets while “leaflets from a group affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan” were circulated. Haitian residents say they fear for their safety and are keeping their children home from school.

Ohio’s Republican governor Mike DeWine publicly called on Trump and Vance to stop their “very hurtful” attacks on Haitian immigrants. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, also a Republican, added: “It would be helpful if they understood the weight of their words and the damage they can do to a community like ours.”

But Vance, Trump and their right-wing media allies are undeterred. Their goal, as Vance admitted in an interview on Sunday, is to “create stories” by spreading nonsense to draw media attention to the supposed horrors of immigrants (and presumably to distract from reporting on unpopular aspects of their agenda, such as restricting abortion, raising food prices and rolling back health insurance protections for pre-existing conditions).

On Tuesday he denied any responsibility for his actions and their consequences.

“A woman who was behind an early Facebook post about the Haitian migrants in Springfield has now apologized for spreading false rumors,” a reporter told Vance during a question-and-answer session at a rally in Wisconsin. “You say you have a responsibility to share what your constituents are telling you, but don’t you also have a responsibility to fact-check that information first?”

“I think the media has a responsibility to fact check the people of Springfield and not lie about them,” Vance responded to applause from the crowd. “I find that really interesting and I’ve learned a lot about the American media in the last week and none of it is good.”

Vance further claimed that his office heard the story about “several people’s” pets and that the media then descended on the city and engaged in “bullying on an industrial scale,” which he called “disgraceful.”