Trump and Vance’s Springfield smear is a microcosm of their entire campaign | Sidney Blumenthal

The Republicans desperately need to distract voters away from abortion. They've now found the perfect new scapegoat

After Donald Trump's disastrous debate with Kamala Harris on 10 September he decided to center his campaign on a single incendiary issue: In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there."

When Trump was corrected during the debate by the ABC moderator David Muir, who pointed out that his statement about the Haitian community in the Ohio town was erroneous, he insisted it was factual. Well," he said, I've seen people on television, people on television say, My dog was taken and used for food.'" But there were no such people on television". There were no dogs taken for food. Trump called Muir a foolish fool", and said, He's a guy with good hair, but not as good as it was five years ago."