Currently appearing CNN On Thursday night, Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigiegappeared in a personal capacity to denounce the former president’s recent false claims. Donald Trump And his running mate,Ohio U.S. Senator J.D. Vance has spoken out about allegations that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping pets for food.Ohio The town of Springfield, a bizarre accusation that Trump first highlighted in Tuesday’s debate and later repeated on the campaign trail. Arizonahas been widely denied by the authorities.
Speaking with CNN’s Caitlin Collins, Buttigieg dismissed Trump’s claims as part of a larger strategy to distract the public from the failures of his administration.
“This is a strategy to get us to talk about the crazy things he’s done recently,” Buttigieg said. “The last thing he wants us to talk about is his record or his policies, so what he wants us to talk about is some crazy nonsense that he’s going to push to the center of the internet and media conversation, and this week that happens to be about eating cats and dogs and geese and stuff.”
Trump’s inflammatory claims suggested Haitian immigrants in Springfield were stealing geese and other pets from a local park, a story that authorities have repeatedly said was unfounded. Nevertheless, Trump escalated the rhetoric by claiming immigrants were also eating the animals. Buttigieg said the narrative serves the dual purpose of stoking fears about immigrants while also distracting from problems such as job losses under Trump’s leadership.
“Trump doesn’t want us to talk about the fact that manufacturing jobs were lost under his administration even before COVID. That’s why the United Auto Workers opposes Trump. He doesn’t want us to talk about the fact that a major economic policy promise that Trump actually kept was to cut taxes on the wealthy. He doesn’t want us to talk about how Trump has destroyed the right to choose in this country, how it’s because of Trump that IVF is even banned in many parts of this country,” Buttigieg said.
Collins noted the real-world impact of Trump’s baseless rhetoric, noting that Springfield’s city hall was evacuated after a bomb threat linked to false claims. Buttigieg agreed that such tactics have a particularly dangerous impact on immigrant communities and help perpetuate patterns of demonization.
Buttigieg also addressed comments made by Senator Vance after the debate, where the senator doubled down on his unfounded claim by saying his office has received numerous reports of immigrants stealing pets. Senator Vance defended the story, acknowledging it may not be true, but insisted it drew attention to the immigration issue in Springfield nonetheless.
RELATED: After bizarre pet-eating claim falls flat, JD Vance says Haitian immigrants are spreading HIV
“This is a country of 300 million people,” Buttigieg said, adding, “Sooner or later, someone, somewhere is going to find an incident where someone did something weird to a cat and they’re going to use that as an excuse to drag it out so we can talk about something other than the fact that Donald Trump has a track record of destroying jobs and destroying the right to choose in this country, and that if given the opportunity to do so again, he would double down on that.”
Buttigieg also cited Trump’s strategic manipulation of immigration fears, pointing out that he blocked bipartisan border legislation earlier this year. Harris has pledged to sign the bill if it reaches her desk. “Most Americans disagree with President Donald Trump’s decision to kill bipartisan border legislation,” Buttigieg said.
When Collins pressed Buttigieg about whether Harris needed to provide more detail on her immigration policy, Buttigieg argued that the vice president has made it clear how she is different, adding that her track record on issues like lowering insulin prices and pushing climate change legislation shows she is committed to practical solutions, as opposed to Trump’s focus on inflammatory talking points.
“Every election is about the future,” Buttigieg said. “Kamala Harris. [is] Speaking about the future, [while] Donald Trump is talking about the past.”
Buttigieg urged voters to focus on the facts and not be fooled by Trump’s provocative tactics. “Trump wants us to have a conversation about allegations that he’s eating cats, and that’s not happening,” Buttigieg said.
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
