'Will be on his political tombstone': Vance swiftly rebuked after admitting he 'creates stories'

15 September 2024

2024 Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance (R-OH) is facing significant backlash after he admitted his claim that Haitian immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio is a lie.

The Bulwark's Sam Stein reported via X: "JD Vance acknowledges the cat and dog stories are urban legends and then rationalizes it (via CNN): 'If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do.'"

After Donald Trump parroted the debunked claim during his debate against Kamala Harris on Tuesday, a Springfield, Ohio spokesperson told ABC News earlier this week that "these claims are false, and that there have been 'no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.'"

The spokesperson added that "there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic."

A slew of political experts and journalists immediately rebuffed the VP hopeful's Sunday CNN interview admission.

The anti-Trump Lincoln Project's Rick Wilson replied: "'If I have to create stories' will be on his political tombstone."

Marie Claire former contributing editor Karen Schwartz added: "The GOP VP candidate is proud to have made up stories that have lead to closed schools and bomb threats in hospitals."

Zack Beauchamp, Vox senior politics correspondent, said: "Vance isn’t as good at lying as Trump because he feels a deep need to be respected intellectually. So you get humiliating admissions like this"

Bloomberg columnist Matthew Yglesias wrote: "If they told you the truth about their plans for abortion rights, health care, and Social Security you wouldn't vote for them so they're making stuff up instead."

National Journal columnist Natalie Jackson added: "I usually refrain from using the f-word on social media, but truly there is no other way to describe this than completely fucked up."

Austin Chronicle culture editor Richard Whittaker commented: "Where I come from, you call people like this liars. It's now perfectly fine to call him a liar - because he acknowledged that he lied."

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