Vice President Kamala Harris said in an interview Tuesday that it is a “crying shame” what the community in Springfield, Ohio, is going through after false claims – pushed by former President Donald Trump and his running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio – of Haitian immigrants stealing and eating pets have led to bomb threats and forced schools to close.

“It’s a crying shame,” Harris said on Tuesday during a panel interview at a National Association of Black Journalists event in Philadelphia. “I mean, my heart breaks for this community.” 

In an apparent criticism of her Republican rival, the vice president went on to make the point that those in powerful positions who are given platforms must understand at a “deep level” the impact their words can have on the American public.

"When you are bestowed with a microphone that big, there is a profound responsibility that comes with that,” Harris said, adding “especially when you have been and then seek to be again president of the United States of America.” 

Harris later said that someone “engaging in that hateful rhetoric” should not be “entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America.” 

She characterized the claims as “lies that are grounded in tropes that are age-old.” 

Springfield has become a focal point in the national political discussion in recent weeks after Trump and Vance spread baseless rumors that Haitian immigrants were stealing and eating pets in the community. Since then, the city has been grappling with bomb threats. 

When asked by Spectrum News on Tuesday about why he and Trump continue to push the claims despite local and state officials saying there's no evidence to support them, Vance cited reports he's receiving from residents "who are seeing these things."

"Between the American media or between residents who are telling me through firsthand accounts of what they're seeing, I'm going to listen to the residents," Vance said. "Now of course, the residents could be lying to me, but I see no evidence that they're lying to me so I choose to continue to try to believe them, to try to talk to them and to try to hear their concerns."

"We're hearing it from people," he added. "Maybe they're all wrong, but at least they're telling me and I choose to trust their honesty more than I do the American press."

Springfield's mayor, police chief and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, have all said there are no credible reports of immigrants eating pets, though the governor has expressed concern about the challenges posed by the influx of migrants, including strains on the state's health care system.

Vance said on CNN over the weekend that he's "been trying to talk about the problems in Springfield for months" and his complaints went ignored by media "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," he said Sunday.

Harris’ 45-minute interview with Politico’s Eugene Daniels, theGrio’s Gerren Keith Gaynor and Philadelphia-based public radio station WHYY’s Tonya Mosley also touched on the economy, the war in Gaza, reproductive health, gun violence and the apparent assassination attempt on the former president over the weekend. 

Secret Service and apparent assassination attempt 

Harris told the panel that she spoke with Trump on Tuesday to ask if he was OK following the apparent second assassination attempt against him in about two months. Harris said she told her Republican rival that she condemns political violence. 

Asked if she has confidence in the Secret Service and personally feels safe, the vice president said she does (at least two people have been arrested and charged for threats against Harris during the campaign), before noting that there are groups in America that don’t feel safe and don’t have Secret Service protection. 

“There are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe,” Harris said, indicating members of the LGBTQ community, immigrants and women. 

War in Gaza

On the war in Gaza, which has divided some Democrats and led to a consistent stream of protests at Harris and Biden events for months, the vice president emphasized the need for the cease-fire and hostage release deal that the U.S., Egypt and Qatar have been working on for months to be finalized. 

She would not say if she supported any changes from the Biden administration’s current policies when it comes to U.S. support for Israel and its approach to the war. 

“We need to get this deal done and we need to get it done immediately,” the vice president said when asked if she would support any policy changes. “And that is my position and that is my policy.” 

When pushed about further on the question of potential specific policy changes, Harris said she supported President Joe Biden’s decision to pause one shipment of bombs to Israel over concerns about the civilian casualties they could cause. She still did not cite any changes she would make to Biden’s current approach. 

“The thing that is gonna unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done,” she said. 

Economy

When the journalists on Tuesday’s panel asked Harris whether the American people are better off today economically than they were four years ago – also the first question during last week’s debate – the vice president once again did not answer directly. 

She instead pointed to the economy she and Biden inherited from Trump when they assumed office during the pandemic and touted her goal to build what she calls an “opportunity economy,” which includes policies such as tax breaks for small businesses, down payment assistance to first-time home buyers and a child tax credit. 

Asked about the cost of child and elder care specifically, Harris said she would seek to ensure working families spend no more than 7% of their income on such services but did not go into detail on the plan. 

Trump conducted his own contentious panel interview at an NABJ event in July in which he falsely claimed that Harris “happened to turn Black.” 

Spectrum News' Taylor Popielarz contributed to this report.