Connect with us

News

‘Quip’: Usha Vance Lies to Try to Clean Up Husband’s ‘Childless Cat Ladies’ Attack

Published

on

Usha Vance, a Yale Law attorney and the spouse of U.S. Senator JD Vance, the Republican Party’s vice-presidential nominee, on Monday attempted to clean up her husband’s attack on Democrats who are not parents, whom he denounced by labeling “childless cat ladies” while suggesting they should not be allowed to run the county. He also separately said not having children makes people “sociopathic,” and suggested those without kids are among the “most deranged and most psychotic.”

JD Vance’s overriding claim was that people who do not have children have no “direct stake” in the country. Vance has not only not denied his remarks, but he has defended them, telling Megyn Kelly last month, “the simple point that I made is that having children, becoming a father, becoming a mother, I really do think it changes your perspective in a pretty profound way.”

A former clerk for Chief Justice John Roberts, and then-Judge Brett Kavanaugh (now the right-wing Supreme Court justice), Usha Vance on Monday (video below) falsely claimed that her husband was merely discussing how difficult it is to raise a child in America, and how some policies make it even harder.

And, taking a page out of his playbook, she falsely claimed that his comments were taken out of context, saying she wished people would take the time to look at his entire sentences and not just a few words from them – despite that videos of his comments are readily available on social media and have been viewed millions of times.

“We are effectively run in this country via the Democrats, via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made and so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too,” Vance told then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson in 2021, before he ran for his current U.S. Senate office.

READ MORE: Can Kamala Harris Win Florida? She’s Getting a Lot of Support – Even From Republicans

“And so they want to make the rest of the country miserable too. And it’s just a basic fact… Kamala Harris. Pete Buttigieg. AOC. The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

“There are just these basic cadences of life that I think are really powerful and really valuable when you have kids in your life,” Vance said one year earlier. “And the fact that so many people, especially in America’s leadership class, just don’t have that in their lives.”

“You know, I worry that it makes people more sociopathic and ultimately our whole country a little bit less, less mentally stable,” he continued. “And of course, you talk about going on Twitter — final point I’ll make is, you go on Twitter and almost always the people who are most deranged and most psychotic are people who don’t have kids at home.”

READ MORE: A Reporter Read Donald Trump’s Words Back to Him. Now Hugh Hewitt is Furious.

In 2021, now running for the U.S. Senate, Vance defended his remarks, and others, in which he declared parents should have more voting power than adults without children.

Media Matters last month reported Vance “has for years deployed ‘cat ladies’ as a pejorative against his political foes and sneered at Harris and other political leaders without biological children when speaking to right-wing audiences.”

Usha Vance on Monday said, “I took a moment to look and actually see what he had said and try to understand what the context was and all that, which is something that I really wish people would do a little bit more often. And the reality is, he made a quip in service of making a point that he wanted to make that was substantive and it had actual meaning.”

“And I just wish sometimes that people would talk about those things and that we would spend a lot less time just sort of going through this three word phrase or that three word phrase, because what he was really saying is that it can be really hard to be a parent in this country, and sometimes our policies are designed in a way that make it even harder. And we should be asking ourselves, Why is that true? What is it about our leadership and the way that they think about the world that makes it so hard sometimes for parents? And that’s the conversation that I really think that we should have, and I understand why he was saying that.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Phony Baloney’: Shapiro Smacks Down Vance Over ‘Weird’ Obama ‘Insult’

 

 

Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

Loomer Invokes Hannibal Lecter as Trump Triples Down on Lies About Immigrants Eating Pets

Published

on

For almost a year Donald Trump inexplicably has been injecting the fictional character Hannibal Lecter into his re-election rallies. Now, far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, who has promoted white nationalism and appears to be influencing the ex-president, has introduced the serial killing cannibal into the latest, dangerous Trump controversy.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” Trump falsely claimed during Tuesday’s debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, referring to Haitian immigrants. “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.”

Despite multiple fact checks proving Trump (and his running mate, U.S. Senator JD Vance, who has also promoted those pet-eating lies) wrong, the Republican presidential nominee doubled down – even after the debate moderator, ABC News’ David Muir, live on-air debunked his claims.

The City of Springfield, Ohio was forced to evacuate its city hall and an elementary school Thursday morning after a multiple-location bomb threat was received, but that did not stop Trump from promoting his false claims on his Truth Social social media platform hours later.

READ MORE: Trump Faces Increasing Calls to Participate in Second Debate

“Bernie Moreno has a very good chance of winning Ohio against a Radical Left Democrat, Sherrod Brown, with what is happening in Springfield, and other parts of the State,” Trump declared Thursday afternoon, referring to the far-right extremist Republican running to unseat Democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who is leading in the polls by low single digits.

Trump then invoked his racist Haitian immigrant rhetoric.

“Ohio is being inundated with Illegal Migrants, mostly from Haiti, who are taking over Towns and Villages at a level and rate never seen before.”

That too is false.

Legal immigrants from Haiti have come to Springfield, and have been a boon to the city’s businesses. Some city officials have complained that the number of immigrants ramped up too quickly, as the local government struggles to provide services due to the increase in population.

On Truth Social, Trump is also posting memes of cats, including one with them holding a sign that says, “Don’t let them eat us, vote for Trump.”

While Laura Loomer denies she is advising Trump, and she has been traveling with him this week, including to the presidential debate on Tuesday and to 9/11 ceremonies on Wednesday despite being a 9/11 truther. Some suggest she appears to have replaced U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as a Trump favorite. Loomer, according to NPR, has described herself as a “proud Islamophobe” and “pro-white nationalism.”

READ MORE: JD Vance Dismisses Taylor Swift’s Harris Endorsement: Voters Won’t Be Influenced by ‘Disconnected Billionaire’

Semafor reports, “After a debate in which Trump shouted about false viral rumors of pet-eating Haitians in an Ohio town, her potential influence is drawing more scrutiny from both parties.”

Now she too is going all-in on the racist and false pet-eating Haitian claims.

“Haitian immigrants aren’t just eating cats and dogs. They eat HUMANS,” Loomer baselessly claimed Thursday. “Remember their leader? Known as ‘Barbeque’? Only Hannibal Lecter himself would want to bring more of them to the United States!”

“Don’t let the media say that concerns about illegal immigration are ‘conspiracy theories’. These aren’t rumors. It’s a FACT. When you import the third world, you become the third world, and we won’t allow it here in America. Donald Trump will stop our country from further becoming a third world nation. The media is obsessing over the Haitian migrants because even the most liberal voters are horrified over the animal abuse committed by so many of Kamala’s invaders.”

Just days earlier, Trump claimed in a rally that “Dr. Hannibal Lecter” is “a representative of the people who are coming into our country.”

Watch below or at this link.

READ MORE: Liz Cheney Predicts Many Republicans Will Secretly Vote For Kamala Harris

 

Continue Reading

News

Multiple-Location Bomb Threat Follows Trump and Vance’s False Dog-Eating Immigrants Claims

Published

on

Just days after the Republican nominees for president and vice president promoted and doubled-down on false, debunked and racist claims about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio stealing pet cats and dogs and eating them, that town’s city hall and elementary school were forced to evacuate after a bomb threat targeting multiple locations was received Thursday.

“Due to a bomb threat that was issued to multiple facilities throughout Springfield today, City Hall is closed today,” the City of Springfield wrote in a Facebook post, saying it had “received a bomb threat that has prompted an immediate response from local and regional law enforcement. As a precautionary measure, the building has been evacuated, and authorities are currently conducting a thorough investigation. Our primary concern is the safety and well-being of our employees and residents. We are working to address this situation as swiftly as possible.”

The statement adds the bomb threat came via an email at 8:24 AM that was “sent to multiple agencies and media outlets.”

Just one day ago, City Manager Bryan Heck in a video denounced the rhetoric used in the presidential race, while promoting the city’s growth, which has been improved local businesses say, by the influx of immigrants.

READ MORE: Trump Faces Increasing Calls to Participate in Second Debate

“It is disappointing that some of the narratives surrounding our city has been skewed by misinformation circulating on social media and further amplified by political rhetoric in the current highly-charged presidential election cycle, our Springfield community is making notable progress that contributes to its growing appeal among new residents, including immigrants, Heck said. “This development is underpinned by our city’s diverse and robust industrial base that encompasses the technology, automotive, food production and distribution sectors, the growth in our workforce population has supported the expansion of local businesses, contributing to the stabilization of our local economy.”

Donald Trump’s claims during the debate have sparked countless memes and auto-tuned videos mocking the ex-president.

“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs,” ex-president Donald Trump said at Tuesday night’s debate, a false claim that already had been debunked, including by city officials, as ABC News reports. “The people that came in, they’re eating the cats, they’re eating, they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

A City of Springfield spokesperson “told ABC News these claims are false, and that there have been ‘no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.'”

“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” the spokesperson said. “Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.”

After being fact-checked in real-time during Tuesday’s debate, Trump doubled-down.

“I’ve seen people on television,” he insisted. “The people on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food.’”

Trump’s Republican running mate U.S. Senator JD Vance, who represents Springfield and the entire state of Ohio, also promoted the false claim, and when confronted, also doubled-down.

In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who’ve said their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants,” he wrote on X Tuesday, CNN reported. “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”

CNN explained, “The unsubstantiated claims appear to be the result of an unwieldy game of telephone that began as a rumor in a local Facebook group before spiraling to reach the highest echelons of conservative media and the Republican Party. They spread widely on X, whose owner, Elon Musk, has embraced the false rumors and posted several memes that promoted them.”

RELATED: No, Haitian Immigrants Aren’t Eating Cats in Ohio

As for the origin of the racist and false dog and cat-eating migrants trope, New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait calls it a “lie,” that “originated from white-supremacist sites online, which relentlessly promote the idea that non-white immigrants are dirty and dangerous. It quickly worked its way from the far right into mainstream conservative channels. Republicans seemed to think the idea gave them a potent meme.”

Chait says Vance is “an important bridge between the GOP and elements of the radical right that have been activated by Trump,” and “played a key role.”

“Before Vance,” NPR reported, “neo-Nazis helped spread the debunked claims.”

“Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” Vance had tweeted.

Watch MSNBC’s report on the bomb threats below or at this link.


READ MORE: Tim Walz Mocks Anti-LGBTQ Book Bans During HRC Speech

 

Continue Reading

News

Trump Faces Increasing Calls to Participate in Second Debate

Published

on

Donald Trump is refusing to commit to a second presidential debate despite a series of polls that found viewers say Vice President Kamala Harris won this week’s debate by a huge margin, but some top Republicans and at least one top Trump benefactor are pushing him to participate in a second round. The Harris campaign immediately called on Trump to do a second debate after Tuesday’s apparent rout.

“I don’t know that I want to do another debate,” Trump told Fox News Wednesday.

“So you don’t know if you want to do another debate – it sounds like you’re a no,” host Steve Doocy responded.

“Well, I’d be less inclined to, because we had a great night. We won the debate,” Trump claimed, contrary to CNN’s flash poll and even top GOP pollster Frank Luntz (video), who predicted Trump’s debate performance will cost him the election.

“We had a terrible a terrible network,” Trump complained. “I think they were terrible. They should be embarrassed. I mean, they kept correcting me, and what I said was largely right, or I hope it was right, but what they said was absolutely wrong.”

READ MORE: JD Vance Dismisses Taylor Swift’s Harris Endorsement: Voters Won’t Be Influenced by ‘Disconnected Billionaire’

How strong was the Vice President’s performance?

“Harris’s margin was bigger than 20 other polls CNN has conducted after [other presidential] debates, dating back to 1984,” The Washington Post reports. “Harris was also deemed the winner of the debate by 31 percent of Trump supporters — similar to the 30 percent of Biden supporters who said Trump won the June 27 debate.”

U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), a top Trump surrogate facing his own tight re-election race, is urging Trump to go another round, while suggesting he doesn’t have much choice.

“I think it would be an opportunity,” Senator Scott said, The Hill reports. “If I was in Trump’s position, I would.”

U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) also supports Trump debating Harris again.

READ MORE: MAGA World Threatens to Boycott ABC After Trump’s Disastrous Debate Performance

“I believe we missed a lot of opportunities last night,” Senator Tillis told reporters Wednesday.

“It makes a lot more sense to, instead of talking about cats and dogs, talk about 1.5 million got-aways,” he said, referring to immigrants crossing the border. “That’s a lot more frightening to me, and it’s a real threat.”

Billionaire Elon Musk, a top Trump supporter who co-founded a pro-Trump Super PAC and has a “fast-evolving political friendship” with the ex-president, according to The New York Times, also wants Trump to do another debate.

Responding to a post on his social media platform X announcing the Harris campaign wants a second debate, Musk wrote: “Excellent, a second debate would be great.”

But hours after his Fox News telephone interview Wednesday, Trump compared himself to a prizefighter, claimed he had won the debate and asked, “why would I do a Rematch?”

And Wednesday, Trump falsely told reporters the polls show him winning the debate. He added, “when you win, you don’t necessarily have to do it a second time.”

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.