Donald Trump Jr claims Haitian immigrants are less intelligent than migrants from other countries amid the fallout from the Trump campaign amplifying a racist lie about migrants from Haiti.
“You look at Haiti, you look at the demographic makeup, you look at the average I.Q. — if you import the third world into your country, you’re going to become the third world. That’s just basic. It’s not racist. It’s just fact,” Trump Jr said in an interview with Charlie Kirk on Real America’s Voice, according to the New York Times.
The idea that certain races are inherently more intelligent than others is rooted in scientific racism and has been thoroughly debunked by scholarly research.
Trump Jr’s comments come as the Republican ticket is facing backlash for amplifying an anti-migrant conspiracy theory alleging that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio are killing and eating people’s pets.
Vance promoted the claim in a post on social media this week and Donald Trump repeated it during Tuesday night’s debate with Vice-President Kamala Harris.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said during the debate to an estimated audience of 67.1 million people.
“They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he continued. “And this is what’s happening in our country. And it’s a shame. Eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Local police and city officials have said they had no reports of any such incidents.
Since Tuesday’s debate, there have been a number of bomb threats in Springfield, that led to the closing of municipal building, schools, hospitals and other local businesses.
Trump dismissed the notion that his comments have led to the bomb threats targeting businesses and schools in Springfield.
“No, no, the real threat is what’s happening at our border,” he said at a press conference at his golf course in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., this week.
