House Majority Whip Tom Emmer appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” a few days ago, and host Martha Raddatz asked a good question about the upcoming vice presidential debate: If debate moderators ask Sen. JD Vance about his baseless pet-eating immigrants claims, should the Ohio Republican acknowledge the truth?
The Minnesota Republican refused to consider the premise of the question. “The people in the mainstream media want to put up these shiny objects to distract people from what they see happen every day,” Emmer concluded before changing the subject.
It was a laughable response, in large part because “these shiny objects” used to “distract people” have come from Emmer’s own party and its presidential ticket. It was Donald Trump and his running mate who pushed racist and false conspiracy theories about Springfield, Ohio, into the national conversation, and it was the former president and Vance who’ve continued to repeat their lies for weeks.
Indeed, these ugly efforts are ongoing. Trump continued his rhetorical assault against Springfield’s Haitian immigrants on Thursday. And Friday. And Saturday. Two days later, the GOP candidate sat down with Kellyanne Conway for a Fox Nation interview in which — you guessed it — he once again said that Springfield “is going to be destroyed” by its immigrant population.
The consequences of the Republicans’ misinformation and disinformation — bomb threats, closed buildings, canceled events, etc. — have been well documented. But they’re also not going away. The New York Times reported:
For Jamie McGregor, a businessman in Springfield, Ohio, speaking favorably about the Haitian immigrants he employs has come to this: death threats, a lockdown at his company and posters around town branding him a traitor for hiring immigrants. To defend himself and his family, Mr. McGregor has had to violate his own vow to never own a gun.”
McGregor, whose business makes parts for cars, trucks and tractors, has spoken publicly about the valuable contributions his Haitian employees have made to his operation — which in turn has led people to threaten to kill him. His children and his elderly mother have been targeted with hateful calls, too.
“I have struggled with the fact that now we’re going to have firearms in our house — like, what the hell?” he told the Times.
McGregor is a lifelong Republican who voted for Trump twice. But he nevertheless told the truth about some of his employees, and now he fears for his family’s safety.
He’s not alone. The Washington Post published a striking letter to the editor from a local resident who’s lived in Springfield for 35 years. “Because Donald Trump and JD Vance have appropriated the town as a set for their racist falsehoods, Springfield lives under a pall of fear,” the local woman wrote, adding, “You know who is not afraid to go out and about in Springfield? Proud Boys. Neo-Nazis. People handing out Ku Klux Klan fliers. … These far-right groups clearly feel as though they have not just permission, but encouragement, from the Republican candidates. It is unsettling to live in this menacing atmosphere.”
The author concluded, “Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance hope to make every town Springfield, where the angry are emboldened by lies and the people they seek to punish live in fear. As someone who has lived through this transformation, trust me: You don’t want to live in Trump’s America.” Meanwhile, Politico reported that Vance, who ostensibly represents Ohio in the U.S. Senate, still hasn’t spoken to Springfield’s mayor — who also happens to be a Republican. The same article quoted Mike DeWine, Ohio’s Republican governor, who expressed dismay over the lies from his party’s presidential ticket. “Yeah, after a while, because it got cumulative, and then you keep thinking, ‘Well, they’re going to stop this,’” the governor said. “Well, they didn’t stop this, they just keep going.” The word “disqualifying” is often overused. Once in a while, though, it’s applicable.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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