Springfield mayor says Trump visit would put ‘extreme strain’ on resources

Rumors that Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city were eating pets circulated on social media ahead of the presidential debate. At the debate, Trump made the unsubstantiated claims known nationwide when he said the immigrant community was “eating the dogs” and other pets of Springfield residents.

Now the city has experienced dozens of bomb threats, prompting the evacuation of schools and universities that were closed or shuttered this week. Trump said he would visit Springfield “soon,” but the mayor doesn’t seem so hospitable.

“That would be an extreme strain on our resources. So I would be OK with them choosing not to visit,” Mayor Rob Rue said at a press conference at City Hall, according to NBC News.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) said a visit from a presidential candidate would be “generally very, very welcome,” but acknowledged that it would be a challenge for the city at this time.

“But I have to accept the reality that resources here are really, really scarce,” he said.

DeWine also said he had not spoken to either Trump or Vance and had not heard of the Trump-Vance group’s visit to Springfield. Vance told reporters Tuesday he had no plans to visit Springfield.

“I’ve only been making plans to go there in the last few days,” Vance said. “I know the president would like to go, but he hasn’t made any concrete plans either.”

On the debate stage, Trump repeated the falsehoods about Springfield, saying, “The people who came here are eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people who live there. And that’s what’s happening in our country, and it’s a disgrace.”

ABC News anchor David Muir told Trump that the allegations were unfounded: “ABC News contacted the city manager there. He told us there were no credible reports of specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals from the immigrant community had been injured or mistreated.”

Trump stood firm, saying, “People on TV are saying, ‘My dog ​​was kidnapped and used for food,'” but without providing any evidence to support his claims.

“I didn’t get that from the TV. I got that from the city manager,” Muir replied.

Since 2018, around 15,000 Haitian immigrants have arrived legally in Springfield, according to the Related Press.

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Melanie Flax Wilt, a Republican councilwoman in the district that includes Springfield, said she wants community leaders and elected officials to “stop stoking fear.”

“If after the election no one uses Springfield, Ohio, as a talking point for immigration reform, we will be the ones still living through the challenges and finding solutions,” she said.