Water flows through the fountain in Fountain Square in Springfield, Ohio, Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

During Tuesday night’s presidential debate, former President Donald Trump made a bizarre — and astonishingly racist — claim that Haitian migrants residing in the Ohio city of Springfield were eating the pets of long-time residents.

While certainly one of the stranger tales that Trump spun during the debate, the rhetoric speaks to a broader campaign by the far-right to demonize immigrant populations. In the days leading up to the debate, conservative figures like Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), began spreading fictitious stories about immigrants consuming cats, dogs and ducks out in the open. But these cynical (and deeply xenophobic) attempts to play off anxiety around immigration have created genuine problems for the people of Springfield. 

In one case, reactionary media personalities and elected officials have focused on a dire accident that occurred in Springfield last year. In August 2023, a Haitian immigrant who was driving erratically caused a school bus to crash, resulting in the tragic death of an 11-year-old named Aiden Clark. The driver in question was eventually convicted of manslaughter. 

This did not stop far-right actors from using Aiden’s death as an example of unruly immigrants who were unable to assimilate, and now the quaint Ohio city has become the newest battleground in the culture war. 

However, Nathan Clark, Aiden’s father, is speaking out against those who have used his son’s death for cheap political capital. 

“This needs to stop now. They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members,” Clark told the Springfield News-Sun. “However, they are not allowed nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. I will listen to them one more time to hear their apologies.”

“This tragedy is still all over this community, the state and even the nation, but don’t spin this towards hate … What many people in this community and state and nation are doing is the opposite of what we should be doing,” Clark continued. “Sure, we have our problems here in Springfield and in the U.S., but does Aiden Clark have anything to do with that?”

While Trump did not mention Aiden’s death during the Tuesday debate, his reference to the fabricated pet-eating narrative speaks to a broader campaign to weaponize anti-immigrant sentiment. 

“He wants people to believe that all of their problems are due to immigrants, and to create this — you know, an environment that is extremely unsafe for immigrant families, mixed-status communities, people of color across this country,” New York Times columnist Jean Guerrero said in an interview following the debate. 

“But Harris was able to successfully deflate him on this issue, which I think is a very important thing that she had to do last night, and she was able to deliver.”