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

[Nevilledog]

https://www.mediamatters.org/jd-vance/jd-vance-springfield-and-how-maga-media-spun-racist-lie-out-control

Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance told reporters on Tuesday that it was their job — not his — to fact-check his claim that Haitians were stealing and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. The Wall Street Journal did just that, revealing on Wednesday morning that Springfield’s city manager told Vance’s office that the story was baseless, soon after the Republican vice presidential nominee started publicly making the racist claim.

A Vance staffer contacted Springfield City Manager Bryan Heck on the morning of September 9 and “asked point-blank, ‘Are the rumors true of pets being taken and eaten?’” Heck told the Journal. “I told him no. There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”

The Haitian immigrant saga is a testament to the right’s refusal to abide by anything resembling evidentiary standards, their demagogic response when anyone dares to point out that their claims are unsubstantiated — and how their lies can spiral wildly out of control.

Thousands of Haitian immigrants have settled in Springfield and its environs in recent years, fleeing violence, political unrest, and economic collapse in their home country while being drawn by local jobs and a “dire labor shortage.” The population surge has created real but surmountable challenges for local governance, resulting in an influx in state assistance and calls for federal aid.

Local businesses and church leaders, however, praise the new residents, who “are here legally,” according to the Springfield government.

*snip*

[underpants]

1. Dear Leader can not be wrong. Anyone who questions Dear Leader is disloyal.