“This discussion just has to stop,” he said while appearing on ABC’s “This Week.”
Although DeWine called for an end to the spreading of the false claims, he repeatedly avoided directly criticizing former President Donald Trump and Ohio Sen. JD Vance for their role.
Trump first amplified the false accusation during last week’s presidential debate and has since repeated it, even calling for mass deportations from Springfield.
In a now-viral debate moment, Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people who came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Vance, Trump’s running mate, has defended the baseless claims while noting that he was willing to “create stories” to get the media’s attention.
DeWine, however, appears unwilling to let the falsehoods spread.
When Martha Raddatz of ABC News asked DeWine if he, as governor, sees evidence of Haitian immigrants eating pets, he replied: “No. Absolutely not. That’s what the mayor said, that’s what the chief of police has said, and I think it’s unfortunate that this came up.”
DeWine said that the Haitian immigrants in Springfield are legally in the US under Temporary Protected Status, or TPS.
“They came to Springfield to work,” he said, adding that local businesses have praised them as “very good workers.”
When asked specifically about Trump’s role in spreading the stories, DeWine responded indirectly: “Look, there’s a lot of garbage on the internet.”
“This was a piece of garbage that was simply not true, there’s no evidence of this at all,” he added.
Pressed again about what he would say to Trump, DeWine deflected and spoke instead about hate groups coming into Springfield.
He said Haitian immigrants bring “positive influences” to Springfield, adding: “Any comment about that otherwise, I think, is hurtful and is not helpful to the city of Springfield and the people of Springfield.”
Business Insider previously spoke to Springfield locals, who said the comments have created a tense and, some said, dangerous atmosphere in the Ohio town.
On Thursday, Springfield City Hall was temporarily closed over a bomb threat that used “hateful language” directed at Haitian immigrants in the community, the city’s mayor told The Washington Post.
DeWine, without naming Trump or Vance, said, “This discussion just has to stop. We need to focus on moving forward, not dogs and cats being eaten; it’s just ridiculous.”
DeWine’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
