Aiden Clark's father demands Donald Trump and JD Vance stop using his son's death for political gain

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO: Nathan Clark, a father of 11-year-old Aiden Clark who was tragically killed in a school bus crash involving a Haitian immigrant, has demanded that "morally bankrupt" JD Vance and Donald Trump cease using his son’s name to advance their anti-immigration agendas.

Clark's powerful message came just before Trump took the national stage during his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday, September 10, to repeat the false claim that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing and consuming people's pets.

“This needs to stop now,” grieving Clark declared before the Springfield City Commission, condemning the Trump and Vance ticket for using his son’s tragedy as “a political tool.”

Nathan Clark condemns exploiting son Aiden’s memory and calls for unity

In his emotional address, Nathan Clark also called out Bernie Moreno, the Ohio Republican Senate nominee, and Representative Chip Roy of Texas for exploiting Aiden Clark’s memory. He urged everyone to “stop the hate” and live with the kindness and cultural curiosity Aiden embodied.

“One of the worst feelings in the world is to not be able to protect your child,” Clark said. “Even worse, we can’t even protect his memory when he’s gone. I said to Aiden that I would try to make a difference in his honor. This is it.”

JD Vance’s campaign mislabelled Aiden Clark’s death

Aiden Clark was accidentally killed last year when Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian immigrant with a valid driver’s license, crashed his minivan into the 11-year-old's school bus.

Vance, who has targeted Springfield and its Haitian community in his campaign since being named Trump’s vice-presidential pick, has frequently invoked the tragedy, incorrectly referring to Aiden as “a child who was murdered by a Haitian migrant.”

Clark clarified on Tuesday that his son’s death was “not murder” but was “accidentally killed,” a tragedy that has been "felt all river this community, state, and even the nation." The heartbroken father implored “the incessant group of hate-spewing people” to stop leveraging his family’s pain for political gain.

“The last thing we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces,” Clark said with his mourning wife standing next to him. “But even that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem like our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate,” reported the Daily Beast.

Donald Trump accuses Haitian migrants of 'eating the pets' 

During the 90-minute debate with Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10, Donald Trump repeated debunked claims that Haitian migrants were stealing and eating pets in Ohio. “In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in,” the 45th president alleged. “They're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Harris, whose microphone was off at the time, appeared to mouth "What?" and shook her head in disbelief. ABC's David Muir, one of the debate moderators, quickly fact-checked Trump, stating that the city manager and police in Springfield found "no credible reports" of such incidents. Trump responded defiantly, saying, "We'll see," and insisted that he had seen reports on TV.

“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 declared. "However, they are not allowed, nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio."