Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) on Tuesday said Donald Trump s and JD Vance s false claims about immigrants are very hurtful to the people of Springfield.

The mayor says theres no evidence, chief of police says theres no evidence, city manager says there was no evidence, theres no evidence. Theres no evidence of this at all, DeWine said on NewsNation of the assertions that Haitian immigrants are stealing and eating cats and dogs in the town.

NewsNation host Chris Cuomo then asked DeWine to address the Republican presidential nominee and his running mate, a U.S. senator from Ohio.

What is your message to JD Vance and former President Trump? You support them as the Republican ticket. What is your advice to them about what to do with these allegations, about eating pets in Springfield that they keep repeating? Cuomo asked.

Theyre very hurtful. Its very hurtful to people, hurtful to the people in Springfield, hurtful to the Haitians who are working every day, DeWine said.

Some of them are afraid, he added.

As for advice, he suggested Trump and Vance speak about immigration issues without leaning into falsehoods.

I dont really tell people how to run a campaign, he said. I just think that the border is a huge issue. Its a very legitimate issue. Its something where I think the Biden administration has not done well and has failed.

And I think talking about that makes a lot of sense, and I think that people want to hear about that, but this whole thing about eating dogs and cats ... its not helpful, he added.

Last week, Vance amplified the racist pet-eating claim after it circulated in far-right social media circles. He later doubled down even after it had been debunked by local officials. The following day, Trump injected it into the national discourse when he brought it up at the presidential debate, which was watched by an estimated 67 million people.

The baseless remarks have caused chaos and stress for Springfield residents, who have been forced to deal with building evacuations, threats and other security concerns amid intense scrutiny.

Despite enormous backlash, Trump and Vance have continued to cite the lie. While defending himself for spreading the falsehood on Sunday, Vance admitted that hes happy to create stories to attract media attention.