Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is attempting to paint a different picture of Springfield and its “rich history” than the one portrayed by false claims from former President Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio).
“Springfield has a rich history of providing refuge for the oppressed and being a place of opportunity,” DeWine wrote in an op-ed published Friday by The New York Times.
In the piece, headlined “I’m the Governor of Ohio. I Don’t Recognize the Springfield That Trump and Vance Describe,” the Buckeye State leader said the rumors swirling about Haitian migrants eating pets is “disappointing.”
“It is disappointing to me that Springfield has become the epicenter of vitriol over America’s immigration policy,” he wrote, “because it has long been a community of great diversity.”
DeWine expressed that he is “saddened” by how the claims have been amplified, including during Trump’s debate earlier this month against his Democratic rival Vice President Harris, especially given his own support for the Republican ticket.
“As a supporter of former President Donald Trump and Senator JD Vance, I am saddened by how they and others continue to repeat claims that lack evidence and disparage the legal migrants living in Springfield,” he said. “This rhetoric hurts the city and its people, and it hurts those who have spent their lives there.”
The governor also condemned what he views as the Biden administration’s “failure to control the southern border,” while denouncing the “verbal attacks” against Haitian people.
“The Biden administration’s failure to control the southern border is a very important issue that Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance are talking about and one that the American people are rightfully deeply concerned about,” DeWine wrote. “But their verbal attacks against these Haitians — who are legally present in the United States — dilute and cloud what should be a winning argument about the border.”
The city has received at least 30 bomb threats since the unfounded allegations, CNN reported Monday.
In the essay, DeWine labeled the bomb threats as “hoaxes” that have caused at least two schools to temporarily close, state troopers to be deployed, a hospital to go into lockdown and City Hall to shutter.
After speaking with some of the troopers following their first day, DeWine said teachers told him, “Yesterday was rough. Today was a good day.”
He also mentioned economic hardship that the city had experienced in the late 1900s and how, now, Haitian migrants who have arrived over the past few years have helped the city with job creation.
“They are there legally. They are there to work,” he wrote.
DeWine also described visits that he and his wife, Fran, have taken to Haiti in the essay.
“We know that the Haitian people want the same things we all want — a good job, the chance to get a quality education and the ability to raise a family in a safe and secure environment,” he wrote. “Haitian migrants have gone to Springfield because of the jobs and chance for a better life there.”
Reached for comment, Vance spokesperson William Martin said the senator is “glad” to have DeWine’s support for the Trump-Vance ticket
“They’re not always going to agree on every issue,” Martin said. “When Kamala Harris abuses our immigration system to bring thousands of illegal immigrants into this country, small Ohio towns like Springfield bear the brunt of the burden. President Trump and Senator Vance will secure our border and put a stop to this chaos.”
—Updated at 10:57 a.m.