SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — One day after the mayor of Springfield said that a presidential campaign visit “would be an extreme strain on (city) resources,” Republican candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday that he plans to visit Springfield in the next two weeks.
“I’m going to go there in the next two weeks. I’m going to Springfield, and I’m going to Aurora (Colorado),” Trump said at a campaign rally in Uniondale, N.Y., on Long Island. “You may never see me again, but that’s OK. Got to do what I got to do.”
Asked if he knew when Trump planned to come, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said Thursday morning that he had only “heard what you have heard at this point.” He declined to comment further on Trump’s statement.
Rue talked earlier this week about the strain the city is already under, as police and other staff have had to respond to dozens of hoax bomb and shooting threats. Those threats came shortly after the city was thrust into the national spotlight when unsupported claims that Haitian immigrants were eating pets went viral, amplified by the Donald Trump-JD Vance Republican presidential ticket.
Rue, a Republican, said Tuesday that if Trump or vice president Kamala Harris were to plan a campaign visit, “It would be an extreme strain on our resources ... it would be fine with me if they decided not to make that visit.”
At his campaign rally Wednesday, Trump continued making false claims that he has repeated on the campaign trail about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, and he added some new claims.
“How about in Springfield, Ohio? They had 32,000,” Trump said. “This is a little, beautiful town. No crime, no problem. Thirty-two-thousand illegal immigrants come into the town. 32. So, they almost double their population in a period of a few weeks. Can you believe it?”
Contrary to Trump’s statement, Springfield has had crime issues for years. According to FBI data from 2019, before most Haitians arrived here, Springfield had 1 violent crime per 202 residents, third-worst among the 20 Ohio cities closest to its size.
City and county officials have estimated the number of Haitian immigrants at 12,000 to 15,000, citing research with other government, employment and health care officials. No local officials have publicly estimated an influx of more than 20,000.
Contrary to Trump’s claim, most of those Haitians are in the U.S. legally, as confirmed by the Republicans who head the governments of the city of Springfield, Clark County, and the state of Ohio. And those immigrants have been coming to Springfield over a span of at least four years, not two weeks.
Harris’ campaign has not made any comments about visiting Springfield. In an interview Wednesday, Harris said Trump was “spewing lies” about immigrants in Springfield, adding that if Trump cared about law enforcement, he would stop making comments that lead to threats, as those tax police resources.
“I know that people are deeply troubled by what is happening to that community of Springfield, Ohio ... it’s got to stop.”
