Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that immigrants in an Ohio town are eating other residents’ pets.
The claims were immediately checked for veracity by the moderators in yesterday’s broadcast. Presidential debate between Mr Trump And Kamala Harris.
But what exactly did Mr Trump say and where do these claims come from?
What Trump said during the debate
The presidential candidate said in the first direct duel with his opponent: “In Springfield they eat the dogs, the people who came here, they eat the cats… They eat… they eat the pets of the people who live there.”
“And that’s exactly what’s happening in our country and it’s a disgrace.”
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When ABC anchor David Muir responded that they had contacted the city manager, who denied the allegations, Trump said, “I’ve seen people on TV … people on TV say, ‘My dog was kidnapped and used for food.’ So maybe that’s what he said and maybe that’s a good thing for a city manager to say.”
Mrs Harris could be seen laughing and saying, “This is unbelievable.” When it was her turn, she replied, “This is really extreme.”
JD Vance supports Trump’s comments
Trump’s running mate JD Vance, who tweeted about the allegations on Monday, defended the Republican presidential candidate’s comments after the debate, saying, “No one made false claims.”
Mr Vance, Senator for Ohio, added that the Haitian community had “caused a lot of problems” in the area.
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“Geese were slaughtered before their eyes”
“It has led to the disappearance of animals,” he said. “Many of my constituents have said this is happening.”
“The city manager said there was no verifiable evidence. Many local residents have said there was. In my opinion, that just means the city manager has no connection to what is happening on the ground.”
He further reiterated that he had spoken to local residents who had seen geese being taken from local ponds and slaughtered.
Where do the demands come from?
They apparently started with a local resident who complained about Haitian immigrants at a Springfield City Commission meeting on August 27.
The man, who described himself as a social media influencer, called on the government to “do something” and made unsubstantiated claims about alleged crimes the government would commit.
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Sky News takes Trump to task over ‘dog eating’
He said they caught, slaughtered and ate ducks in a local park.
Similar claims have been made in Facebook posts by local crime groups, with a post by a purported local resident going viral, for example, saying that her daughter’s “friend” had seen Haitians eating her cat and that local authorities had said they were doing the same to ducks and geese.
What are the facts?
Springfield police said in a statement that they were aware of the “rumors” but had no information to support them.
“In response to recent rumors that there may be criminal activity among the immigrant population in our city, we want to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals in the immigrant community have been harmed, injured or mistreated,” police said.
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In recent years, thousands of Haitian migrants have landed in the city on temporary residency. After years of unrest in their homeland and violent gangs on the city’s streets, their arrival has sparked strife in local communities.
Mark Stone, US correspondent for Sky News, said: “As far as we know, this is a completely baseless claim,” adding that Trump had “clung to a conspiracy theory” and was “spreading it.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue also said Tuesday that there were no documented cases of immigrants eating pets.
At a city commission meeting, Mr. Rue said, “Rumors like this distract from the real problems, such as concerns about the housing market, the need for funding for our schools and our overburdened health care system.”
Mr Rue also explained that an alleged case of someone attacking a cat – falsely attributed to a Haitian immigrant from Springfield – occurred in Canton, Ohio, about 155 miles away, reported NBC News, Sky News’ U.S. affiliate. The defendant in that case, who is accused of animal cruelty, has no known connection to Haiti, according to The Canton Repository newspaper.
Had Trump made these claims before?
Not directly, but Republicans, including Mr Vance, had fuelled the rumors ahead of the debate.
The official X-Account of the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee posted an AI-generated image of Mr Trump putting his arms around a duck and a cat, with the caption: “Protect our ducks and kitties in Ohio!”
Ted Cruz, the Republican senator from Texas, shared a photo of two cats hugging with the caption: “Please vote for Trump so the Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”
On Monday, Mr Vance tweeted: “Over the past few weeks, my office has received many inquiries from Springfield residents saying their neighbors’ pets or wildlife have been kidnapped by Haitian migrants.”
“It is of course possible that all these rumors turn out to be false.”
