SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy hosted a town hall Thursday in Springfield, Ohio, a city that’s been thrust into the 2024 race, calling for an open conversation on the migrant debate dividing the country.

“We’ve been told, mostly by the media, to shut up, sit down, do as you’re told, to sweep it under the rug, or else you’re guilty of some sin,” Ramaswamy began the town hall Thursday evening. “And I just think that the truth in this country is we don’t have to agree on everything. We really don’t. We never have in America. But the beauty of this country is we should be able to talk about it in the open, and that’s what we’re going to do tonight.”

“Our ground rules for tonight is honesty and respect for your fellow citizens,” Ramaswamy told the crowd. 

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Ramaswamy, a Donald Trump supporter and Ohio native who grew up in nearby Columbus and frequently made visits to Springfield as a child, met with city officials as well as Haitian community leaders prior to the town hall. It was held at a small banquet venue with roughly 200 Springfield residents in the room, with an additional 100 in an overflow room. 

He stressed after meeting with the Haitian group that he didn’t blame them for wanting to come to the U.S., but he faults the “federal policies” of the Biden-Harris administration. 

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Many Springfield residents shared their concerns about the toll the city has taken since the influx of Haitian migrants. 

Chrissy, a resident of Springfield for 66 years, took aim at city officials for not organizing such an event with the public to address their issues. 

“How will you know about a city if you’re not bringing the people together, right, and talking to them?” Chrissy complained to Ramaswamy. 

Ramaswamy responded by saying what he thought “may not be very popular in this room” about the city officials, noting that they had been invited to attend the town hall but did not show up. 

“I actually think they do care, at least the subset I met with,” Ramaswamy said. “But I will tell you what I do see happening in the country. I think there’s a culture of fear, actually. I think the reason they’re not here tonight is not because they don’t care about this, it’s because they’re scared.”

“These are just good, patriotic Americans who love their country and city who are struggling, because the people who they elected to run their federal government all the way down have let them down. And you don’t have to be scared of actually being face to face with your fellow citizens,” he added.

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Brock, a half-Black Springfield resident of over 20 years, sounded the alarm on the “hateful language” that has “spiked” since their town received such national attention. 

“I can probably count on my hand, both hands, how many a racial slur has been said my whole life. I’ve been called the n-word twice this week,” Brock said before sharing how friends of his with darker skin have been chased out of stores and accused of being Haitian. 

While reiterating his belief that the United States isn’t a “racist country,” Ramaswamy responded by acknowledging the “weird uptick in racial tension in this country” that didn’t exist in his upbringing, tying the surge in bigotry to the DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] ideology he says “creates more racial animus.” 

A woman claimed to Ramasawamy her daughter had been stalked at a Walmart by “immigrants,” and she said in a separate incident she was chased by a migrant carrying a “machete” while she was going to work. But after her daughter called the police to file a report about the latter incident, the police “never checked on the crime.”

“So that’s how you know there’s no crime in Springfield, because no one is reporting it,” the mother added.

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Others accused both city officials and the country broadly of prioritizing providing care for migrants versus the homeless and veterans. 

While much of the town hall was somber, the crowd broke out with massive cheers after Ramaswamy was asked whether he was going to run for governor of Ohio.

“I’m a little more inclined than I was ten seconds ago,” Ramaswamy quipped. 

Springfield has been hit with a tidal wave of national media coverage as the city’s struggles with the migrant crisis have become a wedge issue in the 2024 race.