Former President Donald Trump addressed the claims that Haitian migrants have been killing household pets in Springfield, Ohio, during Tuesday night’s debate, prompting the debate moderators to push back and claim the city manager of Springfield had denied the reports. Despite this, Vance, Trump’s 2024 running mate, stated that journalists and the press have a duty to pursue these claims, as Springfield had been “ravaged” by 20,000 migrants who had moved in.

“This is what Kamala Harris’s border policies have done,” Vance said to CNN host Kaitlan Collins following the debate. “And I think it‘s interesting, Kaitlan, that the media didn‘t care about the carnage wrought by these policies until we turned it into a meme about cats, and that speaks to the media‘s failure to care about what‘s going on in these communities. If we have to meme about it to get the media to care, we‘re going to keep on doing it because the media should care about what‘s going on.”

Collins then pushed back and asked if Vance and Trump have a responsibility to not promote false information, prompting Vance to reiterate his desire to “take people seriously” when they describe how the “migrant crisis” has impacted their lives.

“And again, if every single thing that the media says about this story is false, the verifiable facts are that this community has had their lives destroyed by 20,000 migrants coming in and uprooting life,” Vance said.

On X, the Ohio senator stated his office had received many calls from Springfield residents claiming their pets or local wildlife had been abducted by Haitian migrants. Vance wrote that it is “possible” these statements are false, but pointed to what is “confirmed” about the impacts of the migrants, including a child who was “murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here.”

In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.

Do you know…

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 10, 2024

Billionaire and X owner Elon Musk has also shared video of a person sharing his concerns on the migrant influx impacting Springfield, which Vance shared and called “extraordinary testimonial of how illegal immigration” impacts the lives of United States residents.

This an extraordinary testimonial of how illegal immigration affects the lives of American citizens. https://t.co/9KkwZIcVEU

— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 10, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) announced new state support for Springfield on Tuesday to properly address the migrant influx, including directing the Ohio State Highway Patrol to support the city’s police department and providing funding to teach the Haitians the English language.