Conservatives are chasing a new cat conspiracy like it’s a bouncing red light from a laser pointer.
In Iowa, a couple of years ago, social media spread a lie about litter boxes in school bathrooms for furries, who dress up like animals. It wasn’t true. but the lie would not die because it was a slur aimed at transgender students and the schools supporting them.
But now, a cat tale has risen to the highest reaches of national discourse.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there” claimed Donald Trump in a nationally televised debate Tuesday.
What gives? Trump’s running mate JD Vance amplified a baseless social media smear alleging that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting cats, and other pets, and eating them.
According to a Facebook post, a “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” in Springfield claimed her cat was kidnapped and eaten. But according to the local paper, the Springfield police have received no credible reports of abducted pets.
But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Jim Jordan and Elon Musk repeated the fable. Musk’s interest makes sense given that Bond villains like to stroke a cat as they plan world domination.
Maybe Vance is trying to make nice with the miserable “childless cat ladies” who he said have no stake in America. CNN reported Tuesday that Vance conceded the story might be fake. He was less than contrite.
“In short, don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing,” Vance posted on X.
But Trump repeated the evidence-free allegation among a parade of lies spouted as he flailed against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
This is the sort of stuff the mullahs of Trumpistan love. It’s dishonest and racist. It scares white people and portrays brown-skinned newcomers as a dire threat. Trump has called illegal immigrants “animals” and “not human.” They’re “poisoning our blood,” as any good little Aryan learned at goose-stepping camp.
The Haitians in Springfield are here legally. They have temporary protective status after fleeing a country run by battling warlords, where there have been more than 1,500 murders this year. That status allows them to work, so they came to Springfield for jobs in new factories and warehouses.
Has an influx of 15,000 immigrants into a town of 60,000 people caused problems? Of course. Health care and schools are under pressure. A Haitian immigrant without a license caused a school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old.
So, there are issues to address. City leaders have asked for state and federal help.
But it’s more historically accurate to demonize newcomers.
The Irish were accused of kidnapping girls, holding them in convents and forcing them to commit to Catholicism.
This very newspaper opined in 1895 that Italians working in Iowa coal mines must go. “Life and property is insecure. Local government is unstable. Riots are of frequent occurrence. Murders are matters of every day life,” we said. Sounds familiar.
Immigration limits passed in the 1920s had the support of Midwestern Republicans who openly embraced the Ku Klux Klan, including in Ohio. Fear and loathing the “other” remains the GOP’s main strategy 100 years later.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
In Iowa, a couple of years ago, social media spread a lie about litter boxes in school bathrooms for furries, who dress up like animals. It wasn’t true. but the lie would not die because it was a slur aimed at transgender students and the schools supporting them.
But now, a cat tale has risen to the highest reaches of national discourse.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there” claimed Donald Trump in a nationally televised debate Tuesday.
What gives? Trump’s running mate JD Vance amplified a baseless social media smear alleging that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are abducting cats, and other pets, and eating them.
According to a Facebook post, a “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” in Springfield claimed her cat was kidnapped and eaten. But according to the local paper, the Springfield police have received no credible reports of abducted pets.
But U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Rep. Jim Jordan and Elon Musk repeated the fable. Musk’s interest makes sense given that Bond villains like to stroke a cat as they plan world domination.
Maybe Vance is trying to make nice with the miserable “childless cat ladies” who he said have no stake in America. CNN reported Tuesday that Vance conceded the story might be fake. He was less than contrite.
“In short, don’t let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing,” Vance posted on X.
But Trump repeated the evidence-free allegation among a parade of lies spouted as he flailed against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
This is the sort of stuff the mullahs of Trumpistan love. It’s dishonest and racist. It scares white people and portrays brown-skinned newcomers as a dire threat. Trump has called illegal immigrants “animals” and “not human.” They’re “poisoning our blood,” as any good little Aryan learned at goose-stepping camp.
The Haitians in Springfield are here legally. They have temporary protective status after fleeing a country run by battling warlords, where there have been more than 1,500 murders this year. That status allows them to work, so they came to Springfield for jobs in new factories and warehouses.
Has an influx of 15,000 immigrants into a town of 60,000 people caused problems? Of course. Health care and schools are under pressure. A Haitian immigrant without a license caused a school bus crash that killed an 11-year-old.
So, there are issues to address. City leaders have asked for state and federal help.
But it’s more historically accurate to demonize newcomers.
The Irish were accused of kidnapping girls, holding them in convents and forcing them to commit to Catholicism.
This very newspaper opined in 1895 that Italians working in Iowa coal mines must go. “Life and property is insecure. Local government is unstable. Riots are of frequent occurrence. Murders are matters of every day life,” we said. Sounds familiar.
Immigration limits passed in the 1920s had the support of Midwestern Republicans who openly embraced the Ku Klux Klan, including in Ohio. Fear and loathing the “other” remains the GOP’s main strategy 100 years later.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: In a barrage of Trump lies, pet-eating immigrants stand out
Top Republicans embrace a baseless social media smear
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