J.D. Vance, a Republican Ohio senator and former President Donald Trump's 2024 running mate, asked CNN's Dana Bash point-blank on Sunday whether she was aware that she was engaging in “basic propaganda.”
Following Tuesday's first presidential debate between President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, media attention was focused on Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, due to President Trump's concerns that local residents' pets were being eaten. Speaking on CNN's “State of the Union,” Vance criticized Bash and the media for focusing on “any and all disturbances” instead of local residents, and accused Bash of implying that speaking out about the issue caused recent bomb threats in town. (Related article: 'Criminal liability': Springfield residents know exactly who is to blame for immigration crisis hitting town)
“You've heard many in the media do everything they can to distract from Springfield. You've heard the focus on the Proud Boys marches. Dana, is this interview suggesting that because a psychopath has made a bomb threat we should ignore the 40,000 residents of Springfield whose lives are being made worse by Kamala Harris' policies?” Vance asked.
“I want to have this conversation live right now. What do you mean when you say that your speaking out about these issues has resulted in bomb threats,” Vance continued. “You accused me of making bomb threats, but doesn't that mean I should keep my mouth shut about the residents of Springfield? Don't you realize that you're engaging in basic propaganda to silence the concerns of the American people?”
Bash countered that Vance was “quoting” Springfield Mayor Rob Lew, who he said was “begging federal officials to stop bringing negative attention to the city.” But Vance denied Bash's comments and accused her of “applying a double standard.”
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JD Vance directly accuses Dana Bash of “engaging in base propaganda” Daily Caller pic.twitter.com/UxOXetomaO
— Haley Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) September 15, 2024
“The mayor of Springfield is dealing with a lot of terrible issues, and while I certainly sympathize with one man and we try to help him, he has not accused me of instigating the bomb threats, he simply did not,” Vance said. “If we're going to hear first-hand testimony from people on the ground in Springfield, why not have some people on the show who say immigrants are eating their pets?”
“You're applying a double standard here. You're saying that if someone slams J.D. Vance, you're accepting that person's word as the absolute truth, even if you misrepresent it. If another person says they're eating cat, you're going to totally ignore them, attack them, silence them and harass them. This double standard is why people don't trust the media and why we don't discuss public policy after 51 days. [the] “It's a presidential election,” Vance said.
City hall in Springfield, Ohio, was evacuated and closed for the day Thursday after a bomb threat was made on multiple properties. According to In response to Hill, Lou said The Washington Post said the threatening message “used hateful language against immigrants and Haitians in our community” and called on national leaders to offer “help” instead of “hurting our communities as we have sadly seen in recent days.”
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