Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, in an interview Wednesday, denied allegations made by former President Trump earlier this week that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, saying “the internet can be pretty crazy sometimes.”
“This is an internet phenomenon, and the internet can be pretty crazy sometimes,” DeWine said. He told CBS News.
“The mayor of Springfield says that's not true. They have no evidence of it whatsoever,” he added.
“So if you follow what the mayor says, he knows his city.”
President Trump addressed the baseless conspiracy theory during Tuesday's presidential debate with Vice President Harris.
“What have they done to our country by allowing millions of people into our country? And look what's happening to our towns. [in the] Many towns in America don't want to talk. Aurora is not one of them. [or] “A lot of towns in Springfield don't want to talk about it because they're embarrassed about it. In Springfield, it's dog-eat-dog,” the former president said.
Trump was referring to false allegations that gained national attention when Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the former president's running mate, repeated the false claims in posts on social platform “X.”
Springfield police and other city officials denied there had been any reports of pet abductions.
ABC News host David Muir denied Trump's claims during the debate, saying authorities had found no evidence to support the allegations that migrants had eaten pets, adding that the agency “has checked with the mayor.”
“I saw people talking about it on TV,” Trump claimed, to which Muir countered, “Let's look into it.”
Springfield Mayor Brian Heck told The Hill earlier this week that the false controversy “covers up” the city's real struggles to accommodate immigrants in social services.
In an interview with CBS, Governor DeWine noted that the influx of migrants seeking asylum comes into Ohio for a variety of reasons, including seeking medical care or safety.
“We have people coming from countries where health care is less well served, so the question arises of getting them vaccinated or getting their children vaccinated. So that puts a lot of pressure on primary care,” DeWine said, adding that the state is requesting more than $2 million in federal funding to help with the issue.
“Again, Haiti is not a country where many people don't drive at all. We don't have many cars per capita. And those who do drive, you know, Haitian laws are very different than in the United States,” the governor said.
Nonetheless, DeWine said companies are profiting from Haitian labor.
“Haitians came to work because there were jobs available, and they filled a lot of jobs,” DeWine told CBS. “When you talk to the employers, they have very good jobs and they work very hard.”
In later comments, he added that most Springfield residents he spoke to “are concerned about the issues I just mentioned, but they will tell you that these Haitians are working hard and trying to provide for their families.”
