Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio blasted the media for not paying attention to the Biden-Harris administration's self-inflicted immigration crisis until Republicans started sharing cat memes online.
Following Tuesday night's debate between former President Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN's Kaitlan Collins They tried to corner Vance after he and Trump falsely alleged that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were killing and eating wildlife and residents' pets.
“Nobody cared until we brought this up. It's a disgrace.”
Collins said she was “astonished” that Trump “raised this misleading and false claim” during the debate with Harris.
“Trump just spread it to tens of millions of people who were watching. Why would you claim something that's not true?” Collins asked Vance.
“First of all, city officials haven't said it's not true. They're saying they don't have all the evidence, but we're hearing reports, directly or indirectly, from many of our constituents on the ground that this is happening,” Vance responded. “So they, the people on the ground who are working on this issue, clearly believe it's happening. And I think it's important that journalists actually get on the ground and uncover this for themselves, when so many people are saying, 'our pets are being kidnapped,' or, 'our geese on the city pond are being kidnapped and killed in front of our eyes.' This is insanity.”
Vance continued, “Whether these rumors are mostly true or only partly true, Kaitlan, this town has been devastated by the influx of 20,000 immigrants. Health care costs have risen. Housing costs have risen. Communicable diseases like HIV and tuberculosis have skyrocketed in this small town in Ohio. These are the consequences of Kamala Harris' border policies.”
The senator then slammed the mainstream media for not taking the administration's border crisis seriously until Republicans started making ludicrous posts about it.
“Kaitran, I think it's interesting that the media didn't care about the catastrophe that was caused by these policies until we turned it into a cat meme. That speaks volumes to the media's lack of interest in what's going on in these places,” Vance added. “If we have to make memes to get media attention, we're going to keep doing it, because the media should care about what's going on.”
“The media cares about this issue,” Collins argued, citing a recent “lengthy” article in the New York Times and a PBS NewsHour report.
Vance fired back at Collins, pointing out her example as proving his point and arguing that the report was released as a result of a meme.
“It's something we discussed and raised. No one paid any attention to it until we raised it. It's shameful,” he said.
Collins tried to corner Vance with a “catch-me” moment by asking if he would believe a report if a resident claimed to have seen Bigfoot.
“That's a totally valid point, but no one has ever called my office and said they've seen Bigfoot. They've called and said, 'We've seen immigrants kidnapping dogs and cats, and the city authorities aren't doing anything,'” he replied.
Vance added, “I have a responsibility as a United States senator, and I believe the media has a responsibility as an institution that values truth, to take seriously the voices of people whose lives have been ruined by this immigration crisis.”
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