The father of an 11-year-old Ohio boy who died last year after a minivan driven by a Haitian immigrant struck his school bus called Donald Trump and JD Vance “morally bankrupt politicians” and accused the pair, as well as other Republican politicians, of using his family’s tragedy for political clout.
Speaking during public comment at a meeting of the Springfield City Commission, just an hour before the presidential debate Tuesday night, Nathan Clark denounced the Republican presidential ticket and called on the presidential nominee and his running mate to apologize.
“Using Aiden as a political tool is, to say the least, reprehensible for any political purpose,” Clark said, according to a livestream of the meeting.
“This needs to stop now,” he added. “I will listen to them one more time to hear their apologies.”
Clark’s impassioned speech came after Vance thrust the incident into the national spotlight with a post on X earlier in the day. He alluded to the boy, Aiden Clark, writing that “a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant.”
And on Monday, the Trump campaign posted on social media about Aiden, including his photo and that of Hermanio Joseph, the Haitian immigrant who was driving the vehicle that struck the bus.
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Standing next to his wife, Daniella, Clark continued.
“I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man. I bet you never thought anyone would say something so blunt, but if that guy killed my 11-year-old son, the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone,” Clark told the city hall forum.
“The last thing that we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces, but even that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem that our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate.”
According to the Springfield News-Sun, a local news outlet, Aiden was killed the morning of Aug. 22, 2023, when a minivan driven by Joseph collided with the oncoming school bus. The bus driver attempted to avoid the minivan, but both vehicles went off the side of the road and the bus rolled over.
Joseph was sentenced to nine to 13.5 years in prison for the crash on first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide.
Despite Joseph having a state ID card and living in Springfield on a legal temporary protected status, his name has been used as a tool for anti-immigrant rhetoric.
“They can vomit all the hate they want about illegal immigrants, the border crisis and even untrue claims about fluffy pets being ravaged and eaten by community members,” Clark said on Tuesday, shortly before Trump went on to claim in the presidential debate that immigrants were eating pets in Ohio.
Clark also said that his son was not murdered and that what happened was an accident.
“This tragedy is still all over this community, the state and even the nation, but don’t spin this towards hate,” Clark said. “In order to live like Aiden, you need to accept everyone, choose to shine, make the difference, lead the way and be the inspiration. What many people in this community and state and nation are doing is the opposite of what we should be doing. Sure we have our problems here in Springfield and in the U.S., but does Aiden Clark have anything to do with that?”
City officials have said thousands of Haitians have settled in Springfield, and credited the immigrants for revitalizing a town whose population had been dwindling. However, a wave of new residents has put pressure on schools, housing and health care.
In a statement sent to the New York Times in response to Clark’s criticism, Luke Schroeder, a spokesperson for Vance, faulted Kamala Harris for the administration’s border policies and said that the Clark family was in Vance’s prayers.
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