- Sep 13, 2002
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How Trumpism Rots a Small CityIn claiming to be a champion of the residents of Springfield, Ohio, Trump and his acolytes have ripped them apart.
Fear and Loathing in Springfield, Ohio—Andrew EggerAt first, it seemed like this week’s “MAGA accuses Haitian migrants of pet murder in Springfield, Ohio” story would be just a bizarro news blip. Then Donald Trump embraced the invented narrative on live TV to an audience of tens of millions during the debate: “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats . . . The people on television say, my dog was taken and used for food.” And the rest of the Republican spin brigade trudged wearily after him. “I’ve heard conflicting reports,” Tennessee Sen. Bill Hagerty said on CNN last night. “There’s a lot of information on the internet that this is happening.” Meanwhile, a horde of YouTubers and right-wing influencers have descended on Springfield, all hoping to find smoking-gun evidence of pet-cheffery in order to give proof to the lie they’ve helped launch. What they’ve found is locals echoing back their own rumors to them: “Then I heard that stuff on Facebook,” one Springfield woman told Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA, “and I thought, I better watch my dogs!” This point bears repeating. What do many residents of Springfield itself have in common with Bill Hagerty, a random shill from two states away? They’re all just repeating nonsense they saw on the internet. Not a single person who has lost a pet of their own has come forward with their story. But plenty of Springfield natives are now convinced that Haitian immigrants one subdivision over are snatching dogs and cats by the truckload. Has there ever been a better microcosm of our Trumpified politics? A small town, strained by a wave of new migrants, thrust into the national spotlight by opportunistic politicians and conservative hucksters, churned through a balkanized media ecosystem that lets false rumors spread like weeds. Trump says he wants to protect these communities. He ends up dividing them, inflaming tensions within them, all while using them as political pawns. The migration of thousands of Haitians to Springfield, attracted by warehouse and manufacturing jobs, has created real tensions: strained social services, language barriers, rising rents. A car crash involving a Haitian driving without a U.S. license killed an 11-year-old boy, Aiden Clark. But what’s most notable about this story (like so many others) is how much of the prejudice underlying it is whipped up from outside the affected community. Last month, a man showed up to speak at a Springfield town hall. “I’ve come to bring a word of warning,” he said. “Stop what you’re doing before it’s too late. Crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in.” The man didn’t live in Springfield. He said his name was “Nathaniel Higgers,” and he was a representative of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe. (“Nate Higgers” is a common gag name among white supremacists, for reasons I hope I don’t have to explain.) More polished MAGA types won’t go that far, obviously. But they too are more than happy to raise the temperature on local racial tensions to get a bump of political enthusiasm out of their national base. JD Vance, who continues to stoke the ridiculous pet-eating story, has also caricatured the more serious issues: “Do you know what’s confirmed?” he tweeted Tuesday. “That a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here.” The same evening of Vance’s tweet, at a Springfield town meeting, Aiden’s father denounced the senator’s invocation of his son. “I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man,” Nathan Clark said. “I bet you never thought anyone would say something so blunt, but if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone. The last thing that we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces, but even that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem that our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate.” Spreading racist rumors about Haitians eating cats is a scandal. Forcing a grieving father to have to make these remarks is a tragedy. |
