We are less than two months away from, perhaps, the most consequential presidential election in our nation’s history and one of the major topics is … a story about dogs and cats being eaten by Haitian immigrants in an Ohio town.

The story is false. According to local and state officials, there is no evidence whatsoever that it is true.

And so it would be completely silly and ridiculous and a complete waste of our time to even talk about it if it wasn’t so racist and dangerous. It also would be easy to dismiss if it wasn’t being championed by a man who wants to be vice president of the United States.

Ohio Sen. JD Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate, went on three Sunday morning shows and doubled down on the baseless claim that pets are being eaten. Not only did he double down, but surprisingly, he told CNN’s Dana Bash that he had created the story to get people to pay attention. He actually used that word, “create.”

On CNN’s “State of the Union,” Bash asked what evidence Vance had for repeating these stories about pets being eaten in Springfield. He said he had heard the stories from supposed firsthand accounts from constituents who told him this is happening.

Vance told Bash, “The American media totally ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes. If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

Bash, as a good reporter should, jumped on Vance’s strange description, saying, “You just said that this is a story that you created.”

Vance answered, “It comes from firsthand accounts from my constituents. I say that we’re creating a story, meaning we’re creating the American media focusing on it. I didn’t create 20,000 illegal migrants coming into Springfield thanks to Kamala Harris’ policies. Her policies did that. But yes, we created the actual focus that allowed the American media to talk about this story and the suffering caused by Kamala Harris’ policies.”

Created is such an odd word choice.

What’s also curious is that Vance insisted that the “American media” should focus on this story. When the media actually did focus on that story and did, you know, actual reporting, they discovered the story was simply not true.

Again, local officials have said there is no credible evidence that this has happened. When asked on ABC’s “This Week”  if he has seen any evidence that Haitian immigrants were eating pets, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine said, “No, absolutely not.”

Yet Vance plows forward.

The story also has created dangerous issues in Springfield, Ohio. Springfield Mayor Rob Rue said on “State of the Union” that the city is going through a “very difficult time,” adding that city officials, including city commissioners, have received threats the past few days.

CNN’s Kit Maher and Chris Boyette reported, “The city hall in Springfield was forced to close due to a bomb threat on Thursday. Two elementary schools were evacuated Friday ‘based on information received from the Springfield Police Division,’ the Springfield City School District announced. Two local hospitals were also forced into lockdown due to bomb threats Saturday, according to statements sent to CNN.”

Vance refused to take any responsibility for the problems caused by the false rumor, telling Bash, “Dana, first of all, let me just respond to a couple of things that you said, but I want to start with something you said, which I think is frankly disgusting and is more appropriate for a Democratic propagandist than it is for an American journalist. There is nothing that I have said that has led to threats against these hospitals. These hospitals, the bomb threats, and so forth, it’s disgusting. The violence is disgusting. We condemn it. We condemn all violence.”

Vance continued, “What we have said is that this town has suffered terribly … under the policies of Kamala Harris. Now, you just (accused) me of inciting violence against the community when all that I’ve done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’s policies. Are we not allowed to talk about these problems because some psychopaths are threatening violence?”

Rue told CNN that he has not heard directly from Vance.

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” DeWine said, “This discussion about Haitians eating dogs, it’s just not helpful. And again, these people are here legally. They’re here legally, and they want to work, and they are, in fact, working. And when you talk to the employers, what the employers tell you is, you know, we don’t know what we would do without them. … This discussion just has to stop. We need to focus on moving forward and not dogs and cats be eaten. It’s just ridiculous.”

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro told Bash on “State of the Union,” “When they go out and they lie about this stuff, they put their fellow Americans at risk. JD Vance should be ashamed of himself. He knows better.”

Shapiro added, “He just doesn’t understand the power of his words, the power of his lies, and those lies are putting people at risk. This is dangerous stuff.”

Shapiro also said of Vance, “This guy is so pathetic.”

Meanwhile, despite pushback from NBC “Meet the Press”  moderator Kristen Welker that there is no evidence that pets are being eaten in Springfield, Vance said, “I trust my constituents more than I do the American media that has shown no interest in what’s happened in Springfield until we started sharing cat memes on the internet.”

Vance made similar comments when confronted by CBS “Face the Nation” moderator Margaret Brennan.

Sunday’s breaking news

Police officers direct traffic near Trump International Golf Club after the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Fla. on Sunday. (AP Photo/Terry Renna)

The major breaking news Sunday afternoon was that former President Donald Trump may have been the target of a possible assassination attempt. The FBI put out a statement Sunday that said, “The FBI has responded to West Palm Beach Florida and is investigating what appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”

Trump was unharmed.

Reports are that the former president was playing golf at his club in Florida when the Secret Service spotted a man near the course with a weapon. The Secret Service fired upon the man, who fled the scene after leaving behind a rifle with a scope, along with a camera, two backpacks and a GoPro, according to a local sheriff. The man suspected in the incident fled in a car, but was later captured after a traffic stop. Media outlets reported the suspect was a 58-year-old man from Hawaii.

It’s unclear if the suspect ever actually fired a shot, or if the only shots were fired by the Secret Service.

Trump put out a statement to his supporters that said, “There were gunshots in my vicinity, but before rumors start spiraling out of control, I wanted you to hear this first: I AM SAFE AND WELL! Nothing will slow me down. I will NEVER SURRENDER! I will always love you for supporting me.”

In a statement, Vice President Kamala Harris said, “I have been briefed on reports of gunshots fired near former President Trump and his property in Florida, and I am glad he is safe. Violence has no place in America.”

We expect to learn much more in the coming days, but let’s look at the media angle to this.

The main cable news networks — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — went with wall-to-wall coverage for the next several hours. Fox News even brought in prime-time star Sean Hannity to pass along some of the news he had learned, including a conversation he had with Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr.

CNN relied heavily on its sources, including excellent analysis from John Miller, the network’s chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. They also brought in Kaitlan Collins and Wolf Blitzer.

The main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox), however, stayed with regular programming — which for CBS and Fox was NFL football. Seeing as how Trump was OK, there was almost no way that CBS and Fox were going to break away from the most popular programming they have by far: the NFL.

However, Lester Holt anchored the “NBC Nightly Nightly News,” starting the newscast with “We are coming on the air with another horrific and historic moment in America.”

Spreading hate

Apparently, Donald Trump is still riled up about pop star Taylor Swift endorsing Kamala Harris for president. Swift endorsed Harris immediately after last week’s presidential debate.

At 10:44 a.m. on Sunday, Trump posted this on his Truth Social: “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT!”

While this is not at all surprising, it is incredibly disturbing.

NPR’s Brian Mann tweeted, “Taylor Swift is an American. Using thoughtful civil language she said she’ll vote for Harris. She urged other Americans to do their own research, register and vote. Now Trump says he ‘hates’ her. It’s important to remember that this is not normal.”

It’s also probably not the smartest thing either. While it’s undetermined how much, if at all, Swift’s endorsement will actually impact the race, why openly pick a nasty fight with one of the most popular people on the planet?

Swift wasn’t the only one Trump went after on Truth Social on Sunday. He also had posts criticizing Harris, President Joe Biden and he also wrote: “THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES IS A TRUE THREAT TO DEMOCRACY!”

Media tidbits

• Oprah Winfrey has a special on Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC called “AI and the Future of Us.” Josh Tyrangiel, a Washington Post columnist who covers artificial intelligence, worked with Winfrey on the special. Here’s a Q&A that Tyrangiel did with Winfrey.
• After a mixed debut last week in his NFL broadcasting debut, Fox Sports’ Tom Brady gave a much better, looser and more confident performance on Sunday. Front Office Sports’ Michael McCarthy writes, “Tom Brady Bounces Back, Tells Hard Truths in 2nd Fox Game.”
• And here’s The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch with “Tom Brady’s second Fox NFL broadcast went a lot better than his first.”
• “CBS News Sunday Morning” host Jane Pauley profiled the legendary journalist Connie Chung in “Connie Chung’s secrets to her success.”

Hot type

• The New York Times’ Jodi Kantor and Adam Liptak write about Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in “How Roberts Shaped Trump’s Supreme Court Winning Streak.”
• I just found out the other day that there was going to be a reboot of the show “Matlock” — the program about a folksy lawyer played by Andy Griffith that ran on NBC and then ABC from 1986 to 1995. The new show will be on CBS (and Paramount+) and will star Kathy Bates as the title character. The New York Times’ Alexis Soloski profiles Bates, who says this will be her last acting gig: “In ‘Matlock,’ Kathy Bates Takes One Last Case.”
• The Associated Press with “The 33 most anticipated movies of the fall.”

More resources for journalists

• Immigration Matters: a tip sheet with resources and story ideas.
• Check out our dynamic, in-person workshop for new newsroom managers.
• Try our free Grant Writing for Journalists self-directed course.

Have feedback or a tip? Email Poynter senior media writer Tom Jones at tjones@poynter.org.

The Poynter Report is our daily media newsletter. To have it delivered to your inbox Monday-Friday, sign up here.