In the course of this year’s presidential election, as was the case in the past two elections, hyperbolic and patently false statements shared by Donald Trump receive their 15 minutes of coverage but without any harm to his poll numbers. These stories fade away and then another story emerges.
But then there was his first and likely last debate against Kamala Harris earlier this month, in which Trump repeated a claim circulating on social media among his supporters. “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump, noting that Springfield officials could not confirm this claim. For inserting his voice in the debate, the New York Post front cover the next morning accused the moderators of siding with Harris. Republican lawmakers, and conservative influencers doubled down on the dog-eating canard. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas posted a meme, as did the House Judiciary Committee, and Elon Musk. Cute pets with the caption reading, “Please vote for Trump so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”
In the social media avalanche of support for Trump, the facts are buried by thousands of likes, retweets, and comments – taken seriously by individuals who made threats against Haitians in Springfield, the schools, workplaces, and events that they attend. With security in mind, the city’s CultureFest was canceled, college classes went virtual, and with easy access to guns that resulted in the second assassination attempt against Trump in Florida last week and a school shooting in Georgia earlier this month, fears of a lone gunman going after Haitians appear reasonably justified.
In his role as Ohio’s junior United States Senator and Trump’s running mate, J.D. Vance stood by the story in an interview last Sunday. “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”
Vance was using his platform to highlight concerns about crime and small cities unable to handle the influx of migrants by sharing a hyperbolic example that was entirely made up. In reality, Haitian immigrants fled gang violence in their homeland to start new lives by taking jobs that others turned down, transforming post-industrial Midwestern cities into vibrant communities. Coming from the poorest country in the Americas, it is difficult for Haitians to shake off the stereotype of their community as lawless.
“If you talk to people, particularly people who are working with the Haitians, what they’ll tell you is they’re very hard workers,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. “We had one person the other day saying, I wish I had 100 more working for me. Look, these are good people. The people in Springfield are good people.”
When pressed whether he would break ranks with his party’s nominee over the racist dog whistle, DeWine argued that his support for Trump is based on economic policy.
The Republican Party’s apparent inability to take a stand between condemning and doubling down on racist comments was also exemplified in Vance’s interview in which he was asked about Trump supporter Lara Loomer’s tweet about Harris, who is of Indian descent. “If Kamala Harris wins, the White House will smell like curry & White House speeches will be facilitated via a call center,” Loomer tweeted.
Married to an Indian American, Vance said that the election should focus on policy and that Loomer is not affiliated with the Trump campaign. It is a hard case to make as Loomer flew with Trump on his private airplane last week. Her social media record is a long list of offenses such as 9/11 being an inside job, a 2018 school shooting being staged, and about Black politicians having their positions on account of DEI.
I write this because I fear for Jewish supporters of Trump, who share in the humor of memes denigrating Haitian Americans, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans. They excuse them as they are not targeting an entire group, just one example in Ohio, or individuals who happen to be Black or Asian rather than an entire race. I fear that they have lost awareness of racism and how it would appear if it comes to our door. What if there was a meme of a Jewish individual involving anti-Semitic tropes?
Earlier this month on Long Island, in support of Republican incumbent Rep. Anthony D’Esposito’s campaign, the State Party sent out a mailer depicting George Soros showering cash on Democrat Laura Gillen, his opponent in the Fourth District covering the Five Towns and West Hempstead. The activist financier is associated with liberal causes and leftist organizations hostile towards Israel.
The Anti-Defamation League notes that memes showing wealthy individuals holding puppet strings or throwing cash around hint at age-old tropes about Jews controlling the economy.
“D’Esposito cannot claim to care about combating anti-Semitism while airing out the same conspiracies that fuel anti-Semitic violence,” Gillen said in a statement. She noted that Soros has not personally donated to her campaign as the pamphlet insinuates.
Since his election in 2022, D’Esposito has been very visible in the Jewish community, sponsoring pro-Israel legislation and rallying against antisemitism on college campuses. But his campaign’s disregard for racist tropes shared by members of his party undermines his desired image as a moderate. Gillen has also attended Jewish events in the district and expressed support for Israel.
If most of my Orthodox Jewish neighbors wish to support Trump and D’Esposito, they have plenty of good reasons for doing so, but there is no reason why they should be sharing memes and false stories denigrating other minority groups. They should speak up against racism, even when it comes from the Party’s headliners. Racism should be condemned equally, whether it comes from the Right, the Left, or within one’s Party.
By Sergey Kadinsky
