Former President Trump has sparked fresh outrage by embracing a debunked, racist conspiracy theory about Haitian immigrants eating pets in an Ohio city.
During his pivotal debate with Kamala Harris Tuesday night. the former president enthusiastically repeated the false claim that Black migrants are stealing and eating animals in Springfield, Ohio.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump said. “They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”
“This is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame,” Trump added.
Harris did not directly refute Trump, but moderator David Muir noted that Springfield officials say the claim is unfounded.
Trump and fellow Republicans have sought to use the unfounded rumors about Haitian immigrants to fan fear and xenophobia among their base of white working class voters, especially in the battleground Rust Belt.
“There’s an extremism here on immigration…. He’s trying to stoke everyone’s fears,” former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who lost to Trump in the 2016 GOP primary, said Wednesday. “It’s a sad state of affairs.”
It’s unclear how the smear campaign started but a resident recently complained at a city council meeting about rumors that Haitian immigrants were capturing ducks from a park to eat.
GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Monday poured fuel on the fire, leading a chorus of leading GOP figures in amplifying the bizarre claims.
“I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos,” Vance tweeted. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
Former President Trump’s running mate added that he blames Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Where is our border czar?” asked Vance, who grew up in nearby Middletown, Ohio.
Vance sparred with reporters after the debate, claiming he and Trump had a responsibility to repeat the claims whether or not they are true.
Police in Springfield, a city of 58,000 in conservative southwestern Ohio, say there have been no reports about stolen animals or anything else related to the claims.
“Rumors like these are taking away from … real issues,” Springfield Mayor Rob Rue told a meeting of the city commission on Tuesday.
Thousand of Haitians have moved to the city in recent years, easing labor shortages for businesses but straining some social services. There are no reliable figures on how many of the newcomers may be undocumented immigrants or American citizens.
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