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's city buildings. After a week of falsehood,
some of them inflammatory about some, some of them are just flat out racist
about the city made by Donald Trump, his running mate and their supporters,
including by the former president today, who was offered multiple opportunities
to try to tamp down the tension, correct the falsehoods and disavow
a particularly toxic follower and traveling companion of his chance
came at a press conference he gave this afternoon at his golf course
near Los Angeles. In it,
he claims he won the debate or polling, and some of his fellow Republicans
certainly disagree. So does his supporter, Robert F Kennedy
Jr, who said he lost on national TV. He also made fun of moderator David Muir. 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 diverting water into the ocean. He accused Kamala Harris of lying
about having worked in McDonald's in 1983,
repeatedly mispronounced her name. In other words, he said things which,
while they'd be outlandish if 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 incite
and can lead to dark places, such as his turning a legitimate line of criticism
over the pullout from Afghanistan and the bombing that killed
13 American 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 Kamala. 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 suggest 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 58,000 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. 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 on to a right wing internet
meme about the Haitian community, they're. In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came
in, they're eating the cats. You'll. I've seen people on telly. Let me just say here, this is the people on television
saying my dog was taken and used for food. I don't know which. What are the full speed of animals
that 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 Haitian immigrants have descended
upon the town of 58,000 people,
destroying their entire way of life. This is a beautiful community. And now it's, horrible
and illegal Haitians that 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. Was 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. What, 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 Haitians 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 in. 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 patriot
Laura Loomer posted on ex today, quoting now Elon Musk post video of Haitian women
confirming Haitians do in fact eat cats and do animal sacrifice and voodoo. This comes as the media is lying
and saying Donald Trump lied about Kamala Harris's Haitian invaders
eating people's pets in Ohio. It's real, and it's happening now. Loomer you'll recall, recently posted
a racist tweet about Vice president, 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 9/11 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 Loomer? Well, I don't know what they would say. Laura has been a supporter of mine, just like a lot of people are supporters,
and she's been a supporter of mine. She speaks very,
positively of the campaign. I'm not sure why you ask that question,
but Laura is a supporter. I don't control Laura. Laura has to say what you want.
She's your. She's a free. She's 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. but. So I don't know what exactly
you're referring to. Laura Loomer was traveling with you
on your plane. Okay? A lot of people do.
It's a very big plane. She made racist
remarks about your opponent. She also espoused conspiracy theories
about 911. Do you disavow those remarks? Well, I have to see what the remarks
you're telling me for the first time. He has to see what her remarks are,
as you saw from a tweet of hers today. Her remarks on that subject
are his remarks. And despite being a big plane,
as you 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 Loomer 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 who 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 commentator Scott Jennings and Ashley Allison, POLITICO's
Meredith McGraw and Michael Eric Dyson, distinguished professor
at Vanderbilt University and coauthor of the new book, represent
the Unfinished Fight for the vote. Michael,
why do you think this conspiracy theory about migrant population
in Springfield continues to be so pushed by right wing media circles
and by the president and former president? Well, in a word, it's
part of the big autocracy the rule, reign and tyranny of a collection of bigoted figures and by a 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 beliefs. And this man has consistently denounced
others. He remember he called Haiti
a shithole country. this is an extension of the same attempt
to both smear, Vice President Kamala 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 mistake,
because if you mispronounce her name and you are 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, dogs and cats, they're in because they're Haitian
and then mis, you know, a mis naming 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 right wing other conservatives have not called him on it. Which means, therefore, it's a
they're complicit his 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
in Springfield. He was asked about the bomb threats
that have closed schools in the area, chose not to address
something that is actually happening there and affecting the
lives of school kids there. do you wish you would walk this back? I wish you 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 in 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 a that's a conversation
the country is interested in having. And I think it gets, diluted
and frankly, lost. The macro issues get lost
when we get wrapped up in these when these other, sidebar issues
or these other issues that maybe aren't, aren't grounded in reality. So, yeah, I 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, that you don't have to you don't have to dabble
in things that are not true.