Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he would soon visit Springfield, a Midwestern city plagued by racist rumors against thousands of Haitian immigrants accused of eating domestic animals, rumors however denied by the authorities.
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The former conservative president, who will face Democrat Kamala Harris on November 5, delivered a particularly violent campaign speech for over an hour near New York against immigration, which he linked, without any proof, to “criminality” and “terrorism” in the United States.
“Springfield, Ohio, this beautiful little town, no crime, no problems. 32,000 illegal immigrants came into the town, almost the size of the population, in a matter of weeks… I’m going to be there in the next two weeks. I’m going to go to Springfield,” Trump announced, drawing laughter from his thousands of supporters when he added: “You may never see me again, but that’s OK.”
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This city of some 60,000 inhabitants, overwhelmingly white, has indeed seen its population increase in recent years. Fleeing the terrible crisis in their country, about 15,000 Haitians have settled there, attracted by the economic recovery encouraged by the municipality and the state of Ohio, in the hands of Republicans.
But for the past ten days, Springfield has been plagued by false information spread on social media and amplified by Donald Trump at campaign rallies, rumors that Haitians are stealing cats, dogs and other pets or even geese to eat.
The allegations have sparked 33 bomb threats and temporary school closures, with police on edge and immigrants fearful, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said, distancing himself from the populist stalwart.
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Central theme of the acrimonious campaign between Mr. Trump and Mr.me Harris said immigration was a big part of the Republican’s tough, rambling speech in Uniondale, on the Democratic-leaning Long Island peninsula east of New York City, where there are right-wing constituencies.
He attacked illegal immigrants, calling them “animals,” “terrorists” and “criminals” who endanger American society.
“We have a massive number of terrorists coming into our country,” Donald Trump said.
“They come from Africa. They come from the Middle East. They come from all over the world, from Asia, many come from Asia (…) We are simply destroying our social fabric (…) and we have to get rid of these people,” he hammered home, again accusing his rival of having opened the borders to immigration.
