JD Vance has admitted he “created” a story about Haitian migrants eating cats and dogs to draw attention to the number of migrants illegally crossing the southern border.
The Ohio Senator last week claimed that the town of Springfield was witnessing migrants “abduct and eat” felines and canines.
Donald Trump, who selected Vance as his running-mate ahead of November 5, referred to the alleged incidents during his head-to-head debate with Kamala Harris last week.
The claim sparked outrage with fact-checkers pointing out the flaws in Trump’s assertion.
However, Vance has since confirmed he “created” the unsubstantiated claim to “draw attention to the Biden-Harris immigration policies”.
Speaking to CNN, the 40-year-old said: “I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it.
“I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield thanks to Kamala Harris’s policies. Her policies did that.
“But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’s policies.”
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However, disturbing police bodycam footage from Ohio last week showed a local woman eating a pet cat.
The video, released by Canton Police Department, showed Buckeye State native Alexi Ferrell - who is an American citizen and not an immigrant - on all fours.
The suspect is facing charges after she allegedly killed and ate a cat on August 16.
The 27-year-old pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, according to Canton Repository.
Trump is looking to reignite his campaign after Harris replaced Joe Biden as the Democratic Party’s November 5 nominee.
However, the 45th President is not too bothered about winning back voters who could be put off by outlandish claims, including about migrants eating pets.
Speaking in Nevada about Republicans flirting with voting for Harris over the weekend, Trump said: “I probably wouldn’t tell them anything because maybe it would be a personality problem. Maybe they don’t like the way I was tough on China.”
The race for the White House is expected to be the closest since 2000, with Harris opening up a within margin of error lead over the ex-President.
However, Trump is looking to bounceback from his second assassination attempt yesterday as he released a defiant statement looking to “make America great again”.
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