While appearing on the conservative radio program “The Bill Cunningham Show” Wednesday, Senate candidate J.D. Vance (R-OH) promoted a furry hoax that has become a Republican talking point.
“Some students who identify as cats!” Cunningham falsely claimed about a school in Mason, Ohio. “They bring kitty litter with them to school! Some identify as dogs, and they have to be called ‘Fido’ and little pussycats instead of human beings!”
Cunningham then went on to contend that parents will not be notified of this behavior or if the child wants to transition into another “species.” Vance was then asked if he would like to be notified if his “seven-year-old wants to identify as a chipmunk.”
“I’m very much entitled to know that,” Vance insisted. “And what a crazy point we’ve reached in this country, Willie, where schools are doing this without the approval of parents, and that schools are doing this at all.”
NEW: J.D. Vance is the latest high-profile GOPer to amplify a furry hoax.
HOST: “[You’ll] not be notified if your child wants to … transition to a different gender or animal.”
JD: “I’m entitled to know that. What a crazy point we’ve reached … where schools are doing this.” pic.twitter.com/DU260SHXZk
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 13, 2022
There is no proof that this is happening anywhere in the United States. The “litter box” disinformation campaign started from the far-right hate Twitter account Libs of TikTok, which posted a Michigan mother claiming it was happening without evidence. And using the bathroom like an animal is a long-standing but false rumor in the broad furry subculture.
High-profile Republican legislatures and candidates have been pedaling this conspiracy theory recently and turned it into a rallying cry against Democrats to spread moral panic. Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert and Minnesota governor candidate Scott Jensen are on the list of Republican furry hoax promoters. Podcaster Joe Rogan also spread the disinformation during a Wednesday episode of “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
As first reported by @KFILE of @CNN, MN GOP gubernatorial nominee Scott Jensen repeated a conspiracy theory last week about schoolchildren identifying as cats: “Why do we have litter boxes in some of the school district so kids can pee in them because they identify as furry?” pic.twitter.com/bMnIC9TruC
— Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) October 3, 2022
Later in the interview, Vance went on to defend Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for his policy targeting “woke” books in schools.
“One of the weirder things Ryan came after me on, he was going after Ron DeSantis for banning books in Florida,” Vance said about his debate with opponent Tim Ryan (D) last week. “The books that Ron DeSantis has banned, first of all he hasn’t banned them; he said they shouldn’t be in schools. Two, they are sexually explicit material that propagandizes and encourages children to take different identities and to engage in sexually explicit acts.”
The books in question were mostly math textbooks that DeSantis claimed were teaching “woke math.”
Vance and Ryan will face each other in November in a surprisingly close race for Ohio’s opening Senate seat.