What will a candidate do to win an election? The answer in the case of Donald Trump and JD Vance it is to go as far as lies will take them.
Lately, Trump has been voicing the notion that Haitian immigrants are eating their neighbors’ cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. He even featured this obscene animal story in the national debate with Kamala Harris.
The story, apparently pushed by his new and close confidant Laura Loomer, a veteran spinner of conspiracy theories, has created such a chaotic set of violent threats that schools and other institutions in the area closed to avoid injury and possible deaths in the community. Evidently Trump is still looking for a winning formula against Vice President Harris and this is his latest attempt.
When cornered, JD Vance, the Republican Vice presidential nominee, had to admit that the eating of cats and dogs story was not true. However, he indicated that they would continue with the lie because it brings more attention to the immigration question, an issue that the political campaign feels can win them the White House.
Curiously enough, the former President and his surrogates are accusing the Biden, Harris and the Democrats of instigating the attempts on Trump’s life. They fault the opposition for saying that Donald Trump is a danger to democracy and the rule of law.
There is an on-going and desperate effort to connect the would-be assassins to their Democratic rivals in the presidential race. That is hard to do since the kid that tried to assassinate Trump on July 13th was said to be a registered Republican.
Also, the second would-be assassin, Ryan Wesley Routh, evidently voted for Trump in the 2016 election and supported Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy this year. Meantime, the Trump campaign is continuing with the lie about immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio.
Worse for the small town in Ohio, members of the Republican Party had a town hall to discuss the assasination attempt because to them, that is more important than the well-being of Springfield. It seems that the second attempted assassination of the former President does not provide enough of a bump to help him win the election.
Senator Vance questions why is it that Kamala Harris has not experienced an assassination attempt this campaign season and Trump already has two attempts? He answers his own question with the notion that the Democratic rhetoric against the former President is the cause of such violence.
But then we also hear that, “they are eating dogs! They are eating cats! They are eating the neighbors’ pets in Springfield!” This is the person that said that Mexicans are criminals and rapists and got elected President of the United States in 2016.
What we have in the person of Donald Trump, a voice that instigates violence to people of color, to our soldiers in the field, especially those that died in battle or are taken prisoner, to our friends and allies abroad, to working people that are short-changed when it comes time for the Trump Organization to pay its bills, to our democratic institutions, and most of all, to the Constitution and the rule of law. He can not help himself as that is his nature.
So we are left with is the terrorized small town of Springfield, Ohio, a city with a Republican Mayor in a state with a Republican governor. Nothing seems to matter when personal ambition over country is involved.
The views expressed by David Conde are not necessarily the views of LaVozColorado. Comments and responses may be directed to News@lavozcolorado.com.
