Inflammatory & Racist: Anderson Cooper Responds to Trump’s Controversial Remarks on Migrants in Ohio

thanks for joining us for a second straight day Elementary School students in Springfield Ohio were forced to evacuate their classrooms after another day of threats made against schools and yesterday City buildings after a week of falsehood some of them inflammatory about some some of them were just Flatout racist about the city made by Donald Trump his running M and their supporters including by the former president today who was offered multiple opportunities to try to tap Tamp down the tension correct the falsehoods and disavow a particularly toxic follower and traveling companion of his his chance came at a press conference he gave this afternoon at his golf course near Los Angeles in it he claimed he won the debate our polling and some of his fellow Republicans certainly disagree so does his supporter Robert F Kenny Jr who said he lost on national TV he also made fun of moderator David mure again he said he would win solidly blue California if votes there would be counted honestly they have been counted honestly we should point out he repeated a false claim that California was diverted water into the ocean he accused kamla Harris of lying about having worked at McDonald's in 1983 repeatedly mispronounced her name in other words he said things which while they'd be outlandish have spoken by virtually any other candidate for any office ever were no pun intended par for the course and which sometimes obscure his other words that inflame and inciting can lead to dark places such as his turning a legitimate line of criticism over the pull out from Afghanistan and the bombing that killed 13 Americans service members into this their sons and daughter just as though Kamala shot them with a pistol in her hand or his hand they were killed by Biden and Cala and if that weren't explicit enough he's also implicating the President and Vice President in the attempt on his life saying in Tuesday's debate I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me which at least suggests he understands the impact that words can have yet even after Springfield schools were evacuated for a second time today he said this Springfield Ohio 20,000 illegal Haitian migrants have descended upon a town of 588,000 people destroying their way of life they've destroyed the place and people don't like to talk about it because even the town doesn't like to talk about it because it sounds so bad for the town they live there they're proud they love the town for years it was a great place safe nice now they have 20,000 and I actually heard today it's 32,000 it's the new number well keeping them honest in Springfield the Haitians in Springfield are not as he says illegal by and large they live there lawfully complete with social security numbers and work permits under a federal program now instead of admitting that the former president and his running mate have latched onto a right-wing internet meme about the Haitian Community there in Springfield they're eating the dogs the people that came in they're eating the cats see people on television let me just say here this is the people on television say my dog was taken and used for food I don't know which what are the full Spade of animals that there that are being consumed there in Springfield we've heard reports from a number of constituents on the ground that they have had pets abducted by some of the immigrants there Springfield Ohio that you've been reading about 20,000 illegal ha immigrants have descended upon the town of 58,000 people destroying their entire way of life this was a beautiful community and now it's uh horrible and illegal Haitians and he came in illegal Haitian migrants taking over a beautiful place can you imagine you have this small little Community all of a sudden you have 20,000 illegals in your community nobody knows where they come from well as you heard a moment ago today without any evidence he jacked that number up to 32,000 so he heard he said and also today he vowed to deport them all but he got the country wrong we will do large deportations from Springfield Ohio large deportations we're going to get these people out we're bringing them back to Venezuela so it's easy to let the comic Opera aspect of him confusing the countries he scorns it again obscures the central fact that what he's saying is inflammatory and false with regard to Haitian legal status in Springfield and the racist slur on their dietary habits Springfield area law enforcement this week went through 11 months of calls received and none none according to them concerned pets being eaten that's the real news along with school evacuations today and yesterday not the rumors and the falsehoods that he and his supporters are spreading here's what conspiracy pedal Laura lomer posted on X today quoting now Elon Musk posts video of Haitian women confirming Haitians do in fact eat cats and do animal sacrifice in Voodoo this comes as the media is lying and saying Donald Trump lied about KLA Harris's Haitian Invaders eating people's pets in Ohio it's real and it's happening now lumer you'll recall recently posted a racist tweet about vice president uh the vice president's Indian Heritage she's been traveling with the former president recently on his plane to the dismay of other Republicans accompanying him to 911 ceremonies despite having posted a video claiming the attacks were an inside job in her words he was asked about her today what would you say to your Republican colleagues or your allies who are concerned about your close relationship with Laura lomer well I don't know what they would say I Laura's been a supporter of mine just like a lot of people are supporters and she's been a supporter of mine she speaks very uh positively of the campaign I'm not sure why you asked that question but Laura is a supporter uh I don't control Laura Laura has to say what she wants she's your allies Express concern well I don't know I mean look I can't tell Laura what to do Laura is a supporter I have a lot of supporters uh but I so I don't know what exactly you're referring to Laur lomer was traveling with you on your plane a lot of people do it's a very big plan with you she made racist remarks about your opponent she also espoused conspiracy theories about 9/11 do you disavow those remarks well I have to see what the remarks are I you're telling me for the first time he has to see what her remarks are as you saw from that tweet of herss today her remarks on that subject are his remarks and despite being a big plane as he said space on it is at a premium even more so after his security detail was beefed up she's on the plane and by his side because he wants her there but in a social media post late today he signaled a possible change and you can make of it what you will quoting now Laura lomer doesn't work for the campaign she's a private citizen longtime supporter I disagree with the statement she made but like the many millions of people support me she's tired of watching The Radical left marxists and fascists violently attack and smear me even to the point of doing anything to stop their political opponent me so a lot to get to joining us CNN political commentators Scott Jennings and Ashley Allison politicos Meredith McGraw and Michael Eric Dyson distinguished professor of Vanderbilt University and co-author of the new book represent the unfinished fight for the vote Michael why do you think this conspiracy theory about haian migrant population in Springfield continues to be so pushed by right-wing media circles and by the president the former president well in a word it's part of the big ocracy the rule reign in tyranny of a collection of bigoted figures and and by bigot I mean as Howard Thurman said a bigot is a person who makes an idol of his or her commitments a fetish of their own particular uh beliefs and this man has consistently denounced others he you remember he called Haiti a country uh this is an extension of the same uh attempt to both smear uh vice president kamla Harris by refusing to call her by her rightful name that is a racist Trope that has been deployed by many on the right it's not a innocent mistake because if you mispronounce her name and you're corrected and you continue to mispronounce her name it's the extension of calling black people what you will call them regardless of what their names are but when you look even beyond that this notion that black people are consuming uh dogs and cats uh there in because they're Haitian and then Mis you know misnaming the country that he will Deport them to this is all a discombobulated bubble of bigotry that continues to operate within Donald Trump's imagination and unfortunately many on the rightwing other conservatives have not called him on it which means therefore it's a their complicitous in his bigotry and an extension of his poisonous worldview Scott I mean the former president did had the opportunity to you know walk back his comments about this this you know what he's saying about Haitians and in Springfield he was asked about the bomb threats that have closed schools in the area he chose not to address something that is actually happening there and affecting the lives of of school kids there um do you wish he would walk this back I wish he would stick to the facts of what's Happening about immigration in this country it is a legitimate debate to have about what's happening communities where you have influx of immigration whether it's legal or illegal and whether that's the kind of immigration system that we need I think that's that's a conversation the country is interested in having and I think it gets uh diluted and frankly lost the macro issues get lost when we get wrapped up in these when these other uh sidebar issues or these other issues that maybe aren't aren't grounded in reality so yeah look I I think immigration and the economy are the two issues on which he can and might win the election and the immigration issues we have in places all over the country whether it's Ohio or New York City or anywhere else are bad enough uh that you don't have to you don't have to dabble in things that are not true