Vance, Bash get into heated back-and-forth over Springfield

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and CNN anchor Dana Bash got into a heated back-and-forth Sunday over an untrue claim about Haitians eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

In the interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bash noted that Vance is “the senator from Ohio” and “not just a bystander.”

“So, instead of saying things that are wrong and actually causing the hospitals, the schools, the government buildings to be evacuated because of bomb threats, because of the cats and dogs thing, why not actually be constructive in helping to better integrate them into the community, because [there are] a lot of employers there who say that the Haitian workers are helping fill jobs that they need desperately filled?” Bash said.

“Dana, first of all, let me just respond to a couple of things that you said, but I wanna start with something you said, which I think is frankly disgusting and is more appropriate for a Democratic propagandist than it is for an American journalist,” Vance responded. “There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals. These hospitals, the bomb threats, and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence.”

“Senator, this happened after you —” Bash cut in, with the anchor and the senator talking over each other.

“What we have said is that this town has suffered terribly … under the policies of Kamala Harris. Now, you just [accused] me of inciting violence against the community when all that I’ve done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’s policies,” Vance later added.

Former President Trump referenced the untrue allegation about Haitian immigrants in Springfield eating pets during Tuesday’s presidential debate between him and Vice President Harris. Vance himself amplified the claim a day before.

“Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” Vance said in a post on the social platform X.

Springfield’s city hall was evacuated Thursday in the wake of a bomb threat, its city government said in a post on Facebook.