BWant to know the secret to winning elections and influencing people? Cat memes. That’s according to JD Vance, who, as you may have noticed, has a bizarre fixation on cats. Donald Trump’s running mate — a man who may soon be one of the most powerful people in the world — was widely mocked and condemned for his comments about “childless cat ladies.” But instead of trying to steer the news cycle away from cat-related issues, he seems to be amplifying them even further. Vance is now making headlines for spreading outrageous and deeply racist false rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Trump amplified those rumors during his debate with Kamala Harris last week.

These allegations, which stem in part from a random woman’s Facebook post (for which she has since apologized) about the loss of a cat by a neighbor’s boyfriend, have caused chaos in Springfield. There have been bomb threats against local hospitals and members of the Haitian community are reportedly in a state of panic. We all know Trump has no conscience – but is Vance the least bit remorseful?

Of course not. Vance is not only standing behind the debunked claims – he is defending them while simultaneously admitting to lying. During an interview on CNN on Sunday, he claimed he has evidence to back up the allegations and insisted he was doing people a public service. “The American media completely ignored this stuff until Donald Trump and I started talking about cat memes,” Vance said. He added, “If I have to make up stories to get the American media to actually pay attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do.”

I’m all for Vance making up stories — but not while he’s running for high office. Please, JD, give up politics and start writing again! You clearly have a knack for fiction. Or, since you’re so obsessed with children, why don’t you spend more time with your own kids and tell them a bedtime story or two? Just try sticking to unicorns and mermaids instead of people eating cats. And please, for goodness sake, stop spreading fake meows.

Arwa Mahdawi is a columnist at the Guardian

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