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Donald Trump’s campaign is just going with unfettered racism now along with stoking fear and discrimination against those living with HIV.
In the aftermath of Tuesday’s presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. JD Vance, made a series of controversial, bigoted, and inflammatory statements during an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. Vance doubled down on debunked claims about Haitian immigrants abducting pets to eat them and falsely linked the migrant community to rising rates of HIV and tuberculosis in Springfield, Ohio. His remarks have since drawn widespread condemnation for their harmful, fear-mongering nature.
During the interview, Vance insisted on the veracity of a discredited conspiracy theory circulating in Springfield that claims Haitian immigrants have been abducting pets for food, a laughable claim Trump made during the debate. Local officials have already said that “no credible evidence” supports these allegations, but Vance continued to push the narrative. “We’ve heard from a number of constituents on the ground… saying this stuff is happening,” Vance said. When Collins pointed out that officials had found no evidence, Vance responded, “They’ve said they don’t have all the evidence.”
Collins pressed Vance on his responsibility as a public figure to avoid spreading misinformation. “If someone calls your office and says they saw Bigfoot, that doesn’t mean they saw Bigfoot,” Collins asked. Vance, however, stood firm, responding, “Nobody’s calling my office and saying that they saw Bigfoot. What they’re calling and saying is we are seeing migrants kidnap our dogs and cats.”
Vance’s continued insistence on pushing the discredited claims has drawn sharp criticism from immigration advocates, who accuse him of stoking racial fear and division.
Vance escalated his claims by linking the supposed arrival of Haitian immigrants to a rise in infectious diseases in Springfield, including HIV and tuberculosis. “Communicable diseases like HIV and TB have skyrocketed in this small Ohio town. This is what Kamala Harris’ border policies have done,” he said, without offering evidence to support his claims.
Vance’s comments tap into a broader, troubling pattern of discrimination that Haitian migrants have faced for decades. Historically, U.S. immigration policy has treated Haitians disproportionately, often in ways that are harsher than those directed toward other groups. According to a 2021 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants report, Haitians have frequently been misclassified as economic immigrants rather than political refugees, even when fleeing violence during authoritarian regimes, stripping them of asylum rights and leading to mass deportations.
One of the most egregious examples of discrimination occurred in the early 1990s, when Haitians attempting to flee their country were subjected to HIV and AIDS screenings by U.S. authorities. Even as the HIV epidemic was waning, Haitians who tested positive for the virus were held to higher standards when seeking asylum. Many were sent to quarantine camps in Guantanamo Bay, where they lived in squalor and were denied proper medical care, the report notes.
This history of associating Haitians with disease resurfaced during the Trump administration, when Title 42—a public health measure aimed at stopping the spread of communicable diseases—was invoked to justify the expulsion of Haitian migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Vance’s claims that Haitian immigrants are responsible for a rise in HIV reinforce these historical stigmas, stoking xenophobia and racial fear. Public health experts have widely discredited the idea that immigrants are driving HIV transmission. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV and that effective treatment can suppress the virus, making it undetectable and untransmittable.
While Vance’s comments have drawn significant backlash, the broader issue of HIV stigma remains a pressing concern, ashighlighted in GLAAD’s 2024 State of HIV Stigma report. The report, conducted in partnership with Gilead Sciences, tracks progress in combating HIV stigma and emphasizes the importance of media representation in shaping public understanding of HIV.
It reveals both progress and persistent challenges in the fight against HIV stigma. While stigma has slightly decreased over the last five years, with fewer Americans believing it remains a significant issue, alarming gaps in knowledge still exist, particularly among Gen Z. Additionally, fewer Americans now believe that people living with HIV can lead long, healthy lives, with a sharp decline in understanding in regions like the U.S. South, highlighting the ongoing need for education and accurate media representation.
The GLAAD study found that Gen Z, the most diverse and out LGBTQ+ generation in history, continues to be the least knowledgeable about HIV. Only 37 percent of Gen Z adults said they felt knowledgeable about the virus.
Throughout the interview, Collins challenged Vance on his false statements. She pointed out that outlets such as The New York Times and PBS NewsHour had already covered the broader issues in Springfield, refuting Vance’s claim that the media had ignored the migrant situation. Vance dismissed this, saying, “Nobody cared about this until we raised this issue… if we have to meme about it to get the media to care, we’re going to keep on doing it.”
Watch JD Vance’s crazy post-debate interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins below.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
