He Wants Trump, Vance to Stop Using Dead Son as 'Political Tool'

The father of an 11-year-old boy killed in a crash involving an immigrant from Haiti says he wants "morally bankrupt" politicians including Donald Trump and JD Vance to stop using his son's death for "political gain." At a public meeting in Springfield, Ohio, hours before Tuesday night's presidential debate, Nathan Clark said it was, "to say the least, reprehensible" to use his son as a "political tool," the Washington Post reports.

• Aiden Clark died on the first day of school last year when his school bus was hit head-on by a minivan driven by Hermanio Joseph, who was in the country legally but didn't have a valid Ohio's driver's license, WKEF reports. Joseph, 36, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide in May. He was sentenced to up to 13 years in prison.

• On Monday, Trump's campaign said the boy was killed by "a Haitian migrant that Kamala Harris let into the country in Springfield, Ohio," the Post reports. In a post on X Tuesday, Vance said "a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here."
• "This needs to stop, now. 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 at the City Commission meeting, speaking alongside his wife, Danielle. "However, they are not allowed to, nor have they ever been allowed, to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio. I will listen to them one more time, to hear their apologies."
• "I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man," he said. "I bet you never thought anyone would ever 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 said his son accepted everybody and had researched different cultures to better appreciate people he interacted with. "My son Aiden Clark was not murdered. He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti," he said. "This tragedy is felt all over this community, the state, and even the nation, but don't spend this towards hate. In order to live like Aiden, you need to accept everyone."
• The New York Times reports that since Aiden's death, some residents have packed City Commission meetings to complain about Haitian migrants in Springfield. "Sure we have our problems here in Springfield and in the US," Clark said at Tuesday's meeting. "But does Aiden Clark have anything to do with that?"
• In a statement to the BBC, the Trump campaign said it was "deeply sorry to the Clark family for the loss of their son."

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