Trump Amplifies Baseless Claim About Immigrants 'Eating Pets' in Ohio
Trump Amplifies Baseless Claim About Immigrants 'Eating Pets' in Ohio
Former President Donald Trump repeated an unfounded rumor during Tuesday’s presidential debate, claiming that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets.
"They're eating the dogs and the cats," Trump said when asked about immigration. "They're eating the pets of the people that live there. This is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
The statement, one of the most startling moments in the debate’s opening 30 minutes, spread a baseless social media rumor to a national audience. Critics have labeled the claim as both inaccurate and racially charged. The incident highlights the role of misinformation in modern media and politics.
ABC News anchor David Muir, co-moderating the debate, quickly countered Trump’s claim, noting that the city manager in Springfield, Ohio, had reported no credible evidence of pets being harmed by immigrants in the area.
Unsubstantiated rumors about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, had circulated online for several days. Police in Springfield issued a statement earlier in the week debunking the claims, saying, "There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."
Despite the lack of evidence, some Republicans, including Ohio Senator and vice-presidential nominee JD Vance, have used these claims to argue that immigrants are causing disorder. While Vance acknowledged the rumors in a statement on social media, he admitted, “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
The rumors stem from vague and unverified social media posts, including a fourth-hand story in a Facebook group focused on local crime. Some statements made at public meetings referenced violence against animals but lacked credible evidence.
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue reiterated Tuesday that the city had not documented any cases of immigrants eating pets. "These rumors distract from real issues like housing, schools, and healthcare needs," Rue said at a city commission meeting.
One alleged incident of animal cruelty, falsely attributed to a Haitian immigrant in Springfield, was found to have occurred 160 miles away in Canton, Ohio. The person charged in that case had no known connection to Haiti.
Immigration was a central topic at the city commission meeting, where Nathan Clark, a Springfield resident whose son was killed last year by a Haitian immigrant in a car accident, spoke out against politicians using his son’s death to stoke anti-immigrant sentiment.
Immigration remains a polarizing issue in the 2024 presidential race. According to an NBC News poll from April, 22% of voters rank immigration and border issues as their top concern, second only to inflation at 23%.
John Kirby, a national security spokesperson for the White House, condemned the claims about Haitian immigrants as a dangerous conspiracy theory that could provoke violence against immigrants.
“There are people who will believe this, no matter how ridiculous it is, and they could act on it in ways that hurt someone,” Kirby warned during a press briefing.
Trump’s claim about pets was just one of several statements in the debate that drew from misinformation. He also referenced debunked stories about Venezuelan gangs in Colorado and foreign influence on the Biden administration, none of which are supported by credible evidence.
During one segment, Trump revisited the false claim that Hunter Biden received $3.5 million from the wife of Moscow’s former mayor, an allegation that has been repeatedly disproven. Despite these statements, Trump continued to push narratives not backed by facts, underscoring the role of conspiracy theories in shaping public discourse.
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