Politics

/

ArcaMax

Biden hits back at Trump's false claims about Haitian immigrants in Ohio eating pets

Michael Wilner and Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald on

Published in Political News

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden condemned a racist smear circulating online falsely accusing Haitian immigrants of eating dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, telling Black guests at the White House on Friday that the rhetoric had no place in America.

Alluding to his predecessor, former President Donald Trump, whose campaign first promoted the rumors on Monday before he amplified them during the presidential debate on Tuesday, Biden said the attacks have to stop.

The Haitian-American community “is under attack in our country right now,” Biden said. “It’s simply wrong. There’s no place in America. This has to stop, what he’s doing. It has to stop.”

Biden was addressing a gathering on the South Lawn of the White House in celebration of Black community achievements. He noted that his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, is a “proud Haitian American.” Biden also said that he had “made a commitment my administration would look like America, and it does.”

Trump, his vice president running mate JD Vance and their supporters have spent the week spreading debunked claims about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating their neighbors’ pets and wildlife in Springfield. The midwestern town, which had a dwindling population of only about 60,000 residents just a few years ago, has seen an influx of immigrants from Haiti after the Biden administration granted them legal immigration protections due to the violence in their homeland, and also launched a two year-humanitarian parole program for nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela last year.

 

There have been no cases of Haitian immigrants eating pets in Ohio, the city manager has said.

Earlier this week, the Miami-Dade branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People demanded an apology from the Trump campaign. The attacks are “reprehensible,” NAACP President Daniella Pierre said in a statement.

“Haiti’s independence has contributed significantly to America’s identity and history, and so the community is shocked and outraged by that baseless claim,” she said. “We condemn this disgusting behavior, and we demand the Trump/Vance campaign publicly apologize not only to the Haitian immigrants against whom this claim was made, but to the broader Haitian-American community who is being negatively impacted by this kind of dangerous propaganda.”


©2024 Miami Herald. Visit at miamiherald.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Michael Reagan

Michael Reagan

By Michael Reagan
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

Oliver North and David L. Goetsch

By Oliver North and David L. Goetsch
R. Emmett Tyrrell

R. Emmett Tyrrell

By R. Emmett Tyrrell
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Michael Ramirez A.F. Branco Bob Englehart Chris Britt Ed Gamble Christopher Weyant