During the presidential debate on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump made the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating dogs and other pets.
“They’re eating the dogs, the people that came here, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said in response to a question about immigration. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there, and that’s what’s happening in our country, and it’s a disgrace.”
Trump’s response was one of the most extraordinary of the first 30 minutes of the debate: a former US president spreading an internet rumor – which some of his critics called racist – in front of an audience of millions. The comment illustrated the rapid spread of misinformation in today’s media ecosystem.
ABC News anchor David Muir, who co-moderated the debate, was quick to fact-check Trump’s claims, saying the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, told the network that there were no credible reports of immigrants’ pets being injured or mistreated in the city.
For days, unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating on social media that Haitian immigrants are kidnapping and eating pets in Ohio. Most of the rumors center around Springfield, where many Haitian immigrants live. However, police there released a statement on Monday denying the stories and saying they have not seen any documented cases.
“There are no credible reports or specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals from the immigrant community have been harmed, injured or mistreated,” police said in a statement.
Republicans such as Republican vice presidential candidate and Senator JD Vance of Ohio have cited the allegations as evidence that immigrants are causing chaos. But Vance qualified that in a statement on X on Tuesday: “It is of course possible that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
The claims about the pets were based in part on vague social media posts, including a fourth-hand story posted in a local crime Facebook group, and statements at public meetings where residents spoke about violence against animals without providing evidence.
Immigration is a sensitive issue for the president. In an NBC News poll in April, 22 percent of voters said immigration and the border were the most important issue facing the country, surpassed only by inflation and the cost of living at 23 percent.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby called the allegations about Haitians in Ohio a dangerous conspiracy theory that could incite violence against immigrants.
“There are going to be people who believe it, no matter how ridiculous and stupid it is, and they might act on that information in a way that could harm someone,” Kirby told reporters on Tuesday.
