Donald Trump continued to stoke debunked claims that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating "cats and dogs" and vowed that he would deport them "back to Venezuela" if he is elected president.
The Republican presidential nominee fielded questions from reporters on Friday near his golf resort in California about why he continues to air the false rumors he initially raised during the Tuesday debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
"We're going to have the largest deportation in the history of our country," he said, adding: "we're going to start with Springfield and Aurora," where Venezuelan gangs have allegedly taken over a hotel.
"I can say this. We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We're going to get these people out. We're bringing them back to Venezuela," Trump said, even though most of the Haitians in Ohio are there legally.
The former president seized on the rumors that have been circulating on social media and advanced by his running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, on the eve of the debate.
"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said during the debate. "They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country. And it's a shame."
About 20,000 Haitian immigrants are in Springfield, a town with a population of 58,000, legally because of President Joe Biden's extending Temporary Protected Status to Haitians in the U.S. who fled the chaotic and violent conditions in the Caribbean island.
But their presence has put severe strains on the health-care system and schools.
Springfield city officials, the police and Republican Gov. Mike DeWine have all come out to denounce the rumors as false, saying there are no credible reports of immigrants eating dogs and cats in the town.
Springfield is reeling after finding itself in the midst of a contentious presidential campaign.
Schools were evacuated Friday for a second day in a row following warnings from the town's police department about bomb threats against city staff and buildings, the Springfield News-Sun reported.
Biden on Friday admonished Trump and Republicans to stop spreading the false claims, saying the Haitian community is "under attack."
"It's simply wrong. There's no place in America," Biden said while speaking at a White House luncheon. "This has to stop, what he's doing. It has to stop."
In a posting on X Friday, Vance without providing proof said Springfield has seen a "massive rise in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime" and urged supporters to continue to speak up.
"Don't let biased media shame you into not discussing this slow moving humanitarian crisis in a small Ohio town. We should talk about it every single day," he said on X. "Kamala Harris did this. And she'll keep doing it unless we stop her."
