Miriam Jordan, The New York Times; Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son
"Since then, Mr. Vance has been highlighting the influx of Haitians to Springfield as a detrimental consequence of the Biden administration’s border policies. The immigrants are in the country legally with authorization to work, and they have moved to the Springfield area to fill jobs in manufacturing and other industries.
This week, Mr. Vance doubled down, repeating scurrilous claims that people “who shouldn’t be in this country” were abducting and eating their neighbors’ pets in Springfield. Mr. Trump’s campaign amplified the baseless rumors, even after authorities debunked them...
On Tuesday night, Mr. Clark, a teacher, cited four politicians whom he described as “morally bankrupt” for using Aiden to advance their interests — Mr. Trump; Mr. Vance; Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican nominee for the Senate; and Representative Chip Roy, a Republican of Texas.
“They have spoken my son’s name and used his death for political gain,” he said from the podium.
“They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis and even untrue claims that fluffy cats are being ravaged and eaten by community members,” Mr. Clark said.
“They are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio,” he continued.
“I will listen to them one more time to hear their apologies.”...
Mr. Clark said that Aiden studied different cultures and accepted everyone. As his parent, he was committed to honoring his son’s memory in that spirit, he said."
