“This discussion just has to stop,” he stated whereas showing on ABC's “This Week.”
Although DeWine known as for an finish to the spreading of the false claims, he repeatedly prevented instantly criticizing former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance for his or her function.
Trump first amplified the false accusation throughout final week's presidential debate and has since repeated it, even calling for mass deportations from Springfield.
In a now-viral debate second, Trump stated: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people who came in, they are eating the cats. They're eating — they're eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Vance, Trump's working mate, has defended the baseless claims whereas noting that he was keen to “create stories” to get the media's consideration.
DeWine, nonetheless, seems unwilling to let the falsehoods unfold.
When Martha Raddatz of ABC News requested DeWine if he, as governor, sees proof of Haitian immigrants consuming pets, he replied: “No. Absolutely not. That's what the mayor said, that's what the chief of police has said, and I think it's unfortunate that this came up.”
DeWine stated that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are legally within the US underneath Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
“They came to Springfield to work,” he stated, including that native companies have praised them as “very good workers.”
When requested particularly about Trump's function in spreading the tales, DeWine responded not directly: “Look, there's a lot of garbage on the internet.”
“This was a piece of garbage that was simply not true, there's no evidence of this at all,” he added.
Pressed once more about what he would say to Trump, DeWine deflected and spoke as a substitute about hate teams coming into Springfield.
He stated Haitian immigrants deliver “positive influences” to Springfield, including: “Any comment about that otherwise, I think, is hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield.”
Business Insider beforehand spoke to Springfield locals, who stated the feedback have created a tense and, some stated, harmful ambiance within the Ohio city.
On Thursday, Springfield City Hall was briefly closed over a bomb risk that used “hateful language” directed at Haitian immigrants locally, the city's mayor told The Washington Post.
DeWine, with out naming Trump or Vance, stated, “This discussion just has to stop. We need to focus on moving forward, not dogs and cats being eaten; it's just ridiculous.”
DeWine's workplace didn't instantly reply to a request for remark from Business Insider.
