Nathan Clark, an Ohio man who lost his 11-year-old son Aiden in a bus crash last year, stood before the Springfield City Commission meeting on Tuesday, begging Donald Trump, JD Vance and other “morally bankrupt” politicians to stop using his son’s tragic death for “political gain.”
“You know, I wish that my son, Aidan Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man,” Clark began while standing next to his wife and mother of their son, Danielle Clark. “If that guy killed my 11-year-old son the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone.”
Clark told those at the meeting that former president Donald Trump, Senator JD Vance, Representative Chip Roy and Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno had all “spoken” his son’s name and “used his death for political gain.”
“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. However they are not allowed nor have they been allowed to mention Aiden Clark from Springfield, Ohio,” Clark said.
Last August, Aiden was killed in a bus crash when a car, driven by Haitian immigrant Hermanio Joseph, veered into the path of the school, colliding with it and sending the bus off the side of the road. At least 20 other schoolchildren were injured.
Joseph, who was in Springfield under protected immigration status, was sentenced to at least nine years in prison on charges of first-degree felony involuntary manslaughter and fourth-degree felony vehicular homicide.
As the Clark family tried to grieve the loss of their son, some conservative politicians quickly capitalized on the incident to espouse anti-immigration rhetoric and criticize President Joe Biden’s border policies.
On Tuesday, Vance wrote on X that “a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here” and criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for “bragging about giving amnesty to thousands of Haitian migrants.”
In response to Clark’s speech, Luke Schroeder, a spokesman for Senator Vance, said, “Kamala Harris should apologize to the angel mothers who testified before Congress yesterday. Will she apologize to Tammy Nobles, Alexis Nungaray, or Anne Fundner? They hold her and her open borders policies accountable for the deaths of their children. The Clark family is in Senator Vance’s prayers.”
On Monday, an X account run by the Trump campaign posted a side-by-side photo of Aiden next to Joseph claiming the 11-year-old “was killed on his way to school by a Haitian migrant” and criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for refusing to say the child’s name.
“My son Aiden Clark was not murdered,” Clark said on Tuesday. “He was accidentally killed by an immigrant from Haiti.”
The Independent has asked the Trump campaign for any response on Clark’s speech.
Kansas Senator Roger Marshall also used a photo of Aiden to criticize President Joe Biden’s border policies.
On Tuesday, Clark encouraged others to “live like Aiden” and stop spinning the incident “towards hate.”
“In order to live like Aiden you need to accept everyone, choose to shine, make the difference, lead the way and be the inspiration,” Clark said.
But Trump would invoke Springfield’s name during the presidential debate on Tuesday night to claim that “dangerous” immigrants are “violently” “taking over the towns” and “destroying our country” while promoting his anti-immigration policies.
The former president repeated a debunked claim that the community of Haitian immigrants in Springfield are abducting and “eating” people’s pets – specifically dogs and cats.
There is no evidence that this claim is true. Both the Springfield Police and the Springfield City Commissioner have confirmed there have been “no credible” reports of this.
“Did you know one of the worst feelings in the world is to not be able to protect your child? Even worse we can’t even protect his memory when he’s gone. Please stop the hate, I said to Aiden that I would try to make a difference in his honor. This is it,” Clark said at the end of his speech.