Unfounded and derogatory lies have consequences, especially on a large political scale
Presidential debates are utilized so the American people can decide which nominee has the best policies for the country. Debates used to be a test of intellect between two respectable candidates. However, now it has turned into a mudslinging contest with an unhealthy amount of lies to scare people into voting for a candidate despite not being the best choice.
Former President Donald J. Trump did just that.
The highly anticipated debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump allowed both to share their potential policies and how they would change America if elected the forty-seventh president.
What should have been a debate on how they would both combat the millions of problems that everyday Americans face became a platform that allowed Trump to spread heinous lies and claims.
Out of all of the statements that the former president made, the most asinine one was that Haitian immigrants are eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. While it seemed laughable when the statement was made, it has now proven that his lies and his propaganda are harming Haitian immigrants to an inhumane degree.
The Haitian immigrant hate started, though, before the Presidential Debate. On September 9, just one day before the Presidential Debate, JD Vance, Trump’s Vice Presidential pick, had a rally, and he stated that “Haitians are illegal immigrants who are creating chaos all over Springfield, Ohio.” He then added to his baseless claim by saying, “People have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Both Trump’s and Vance’s rhetoric is just another fear tactic that the GOP is using to garner enough votes for this upcoming election. While this claim has been debunked, this rhetoric leads to more harm because it is under complete and utter fallacy.
According to Vox, the number of Haitian immigrants in Springfield is about 15,000. They fled to Springfield to escape the violence and gang activity in their home country.
The Columbus Dispatch stated that the number of Haitian immigrants increased after Covid-19 in 2020. So, under the federal government’s Temporary Protected Status Program, these Haitians are in America legally and are finding jobs to secure economic prosperity.
The Ohio governor, Mike DeWine, Republican, told CBS News, “These Haitians came in here to work because there were jobs, and they filled a lot of jobs. And if you talk to employers, they’ve done a very, very, good job, and they work very, very hard.” He also went on to say that there was no truth in either Vance’s or Trump’s claims concerning that Haitians were eating pets.
So, while Haitian Immigrants have maintained legal status in America, and while they are simply working to have a better life, it is being reported that they are victims of violence because of the truthless claims made about them.
According to numerous reports from reputable news sources, the Haitian immigrants have been the victims of attacks, both verbal and physical, since the lies were spread. Some have even reported that they have woken up to acid being poured onto their cars and on their properties. But this isn’t the first time that Trump has done this.
During the 2016 election, Trump shared similar sentiments when it came to Muslims and Latinos. Citing that they were in the country illegally, they were going to repeat 9/11, and they were going to smuggle illegal drugs into the United States. Upon other baseless falsehoods, Trump geared his racism toward those who he felt were illegal immigrants when they were, in fact, not. If that were not enough, he also put out an ad calling for the death of the Central Park Five who were later exonerated of all charges once it was proven that they were innocent.
The issue with lies is that they erupt into unnecessary chaos and leave defenseless people fighting for themselves. They are forced into compromising positions to protect themselves from violence when they leave their home country to escape the violence there.
Moreso, this allows for numerous racist groups (Proud Boys, KKK, Homegrown Terrorists, Neo-Nazi, etc.) to attack those who are People of Color under the guise of “protecting America” or, in this case, “protecting their pets.”
However, this most recent lie is just another piece of evidence on the mountaintop pile of lies that leads to immigrants facing violence and discrimination.
Peeling back the layers of this country and its principles, you come to realize that America has been working overtime to ensure that this is a predominantly white country. Whether it be the enslavement of Africans for 300 years or the Japanese concentration camps after the Pearl Harbor bombing, America has used fear-mongering amongst their white demographic to ban “undesirables.”
Using someone’s skin tone as a means to bully them in a comprehensive form of political campaign allows for the reappearance of “yellow journalism.” Yellow journalism was a tactic that newspapers used in the 1800s to drive sales. Both the VP and presidential Republican nominees made a deadly combination of “yellow journalism” and fear-mongering to increase the number of voters they hoped to gain for the election. While it was proven that both Trump and Vance lied, the damage is done.
Doing this on a broad scale allows for the GOP to incite their political policies but through the use of unintelligent and violent white Americans. It provides for a resurgence of KKK/Neo-Nazi groups as they incite violence on people who do not look like them under the statements of those that they follow.
In so many words, due to the GOP picking two liars as their representatives, the Republican party is allowing itself to shed the white hood and white robe and enable people to see what kind of party they genuinely are.
Zahiyah Carter is a Gen Z writer based in Dallas. Her work focuses on topics that matter most to young people, from social issues and pop culture to technology and beyond.
