Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump once again harped on the debunked but bizarre internet theory that Haitian immigrants are eating dogs and cats. Donald Trump made these false claims on Tuesday in his first debate against Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump made these outlandish claims after Kamala Harris made fun of Trump’s rallies which she stated were filled with inaccuracies and fictitious claims which led the attendees to leave early.
Mr. Trump responded and said,
“A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats. They’re eating — they’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio echoed similar sentiments on the campaign trail this week. The genesis of this story can be traced to a viral video which created fear about a growing Haitian legal immigrant population in Springfield.
The false narrative started on September 6 with a social media post which indicted the Haitian immigrants in Springfield as being involved in obnoxious acts involving pets. The post soon became viral and was amplified by Right Wing social media sites and political figures including Ohio Senator JD Vance and other Republicans. However, later Vance’s office did issue an addendum saying the rumours might be false. However, the misinformation had been widely disseminated.
Soon rumours that the immigrant population butchered ducks, cats and dogs and ate it as food. However local officials have repeatedly stated that they have not found any evidence or credible reports of pets being harmed by Haitian residents.
When ABC News moderator David Muir pointed out the lack of evidence Trump hit back and said that his source of information was the people on Television who stated that their pet dog was taken and used as food.
Muir corrected the former president, adding: “ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Trump’s statements evoked hearty laughter from Kamala Harris who stated that this is one of the reasons she has the endorsements of 200 Republicans.
The former president asserted while pushing his anti-immigration policies that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating dogs and cats. He also questioned what has been done to our country by allowing millions and millions of people to come into the US.
Hours before the start of the first debate between the two presidential candidates Trump stoked the controversy by posting provocative images on his social media platform. It included one of him surrounded by cats and geese. Later he posted another picture featuring armed cats in MAGA hats.
Also Read: Tim Walz Subpoenaed by US Workforce Committee, Charged with Massive COVID Pandemic Funds Fraud
