Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump performed as expected at the 2024 presidential debate by side-stepping questions with his usual ramblings, old talking points, and repeated lies.
One of the comments that stuck with viewers was Trump's claim, immediately debunked by ABC moderator David Muir, that immigrants were eating pets belonging to residents of Springfield, Ohio.
While on the topic of undocumented immigrants, Trump said, “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs," despite a lack of local news reports on such incidents.
He added:
"The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they’re eating the pets of the people that live there."
"And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
You can watch a clip here.
The claim stems from an allegation made by Trump's running mate J.D. Vance, who said Haitian migrants were stealing people's pets and feasting on them in his home state of Ohio, causing a significant increase in the contraction of diseases like TB and HIV.
Springfield city officials, however, said there was no evidence of Haitians causing harm to or feasting on cats and dogs in the state.
The internet couldn't resist mocking Trump's ludicrous claim with viral memes from the popular cartoon sitcom The Simpsons, which coincidentally takes place in the fictional American town of Springfield.
Social media users were in stitches over the ridiculous fake news.
Although Springfield police told local news outlets there have been no reports of dogs or cats being stolen and eaten, there was an incident on August 16, 2024 involving a 27-year-old woman in Canton, located 170 miles northeast of Springfield, who was arrested after allegedly killing and eating a cat in a "residential area in front of multiple people,” according to a police report.
The woman was not a Haitian immigrant. She was an Ohio resident, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
However, Trump's campaign and the MAGA crowd continued disseminating the misrepresented claims to fuel the pet-eating rumors.
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