Immigrants are eating people’s pets: Donald Trump doubles down on conspiracy theory
Donald Trump is not stepping back from his unsubstantiated claims that immigrants in an American city have been killing and eating local residents’ pets.
The allegation, whose genesis lies in an obscure Facebook post, has been amplified by right-wing accounts on social media.
It only shot to mainstream national attention in the United States when Mr Trump repeated it during Tuesday’s presidential debate against Kamala Harris.
“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,” said Mr Trump during the debate, as Ms Harris stood a few metres away from him, laughing.
“This is unbelievable,” she could be heard saying, though her microphone was muted.
During a rally in Tucson, Arizona today, the former president doubled down, and actually added another alleged victim to story: geese.
“There’s a place called Springfield, Ohio that you’ve been reading about. Twenty thousand illegal Haitian immigrants have descended upon the town of 58,000 people, destroying their entire way of life,” Mr Trump said.
“This was a beautiful community. Now it’s horrible, what has happened.”
He got the population of Springfield correct, and it is indeed playing host to a significant number of Haitian immigrants, though it’s unclear where Mr Trump’s figure of 20,000 came from. Local government data shows the total immigrant population in Springfield, including but not limited to Haitians, is about 15,000.
We should also note that the Haitians in question are not illegal immigrants; local officials have clarified that they’re living in the city legally. Many are part of job programs run by the government.
Mr Trump went on to blame the migrants for increases in car accidents and enrolments in Medicaid, a government health insurance program.
“Recordings of 911 calls even show residents are reporting that migrants are walking off with the town’s geese. They’re taking the geese!” he added.
“And even walking off with their pets. ‘My dog’s been taken!’ These people are the worst.”
In Tuesday’s debate, ABC News host David Muir cited Springfield’s city manager, who has said there are no specific reports of pets, or other animals, being stolen or eaten.
The local police department also felt the need to issue a statement.
“In response to recent rumours alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify there have been no credible reports, or specific claims, of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community,” the police said.
They were backed up by Ohio’s Republican Governor, Mike DeWine.
“I think we should take the word of the city manager and the mayor that they’ve found no credible evidence of that story of Haitians eating pets,” Mr DeWine said on Wednesday.
“My job is to tell what the facts are and what we’re seeing, and I rely, frankly, on Mayor Rue, the other officials, and county officials. They’re the ones who are there, they’re the ones who know what’s going on.”
Nevertheless, Mr Trump and his nominee for the vice presidency, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, have remained undeterred.
“Illegal Haitians came in. Illegal Haitian migrants taking over a beautiful place,” Mr Trump said at his Arizona rally.
“It was so beautiful. Springfield, Ohio. I was there, I campaigned there a while ago. Springfield, it was so beautiful. Now it’s just, what a place.
“Can you imagine, you have this small little community. All of a sudden you have 20,000 illegals in your community. No one knows where they come from.”
Indeed, no one knows where these Haitian migrants come from. Haiti, perhaps? No, that’s too obvious. I suppose the mystery will never be solved.
Speaking to CNN immediately after the debate on Tuesday night, Mr Vance suggested the claim about pets being eaten in Springfield was of public value, regardless of whether or not it was actually true.
“The media didn’t care about the carnage wrought by these (immigration) policies until we turned it into a meme about cats, and that speaks to the media’s failure to care about what’s going on in these communities,” said Mr Vance.
“If we have to meme about it to get the media to care, we’re going to keep on doing it, because the media could and should care about what’s going on.”
City rocked by bomb threats
“Multiple facilities” in Springfield were evacuated on Thursday, local time after a bomb threat. It’s as yet unclear whether that threat was linked to the claims about migrants.
The buildings in question included Springfield’s city hall, two facilities related to driver’s licences, and a primary school.
“Springfield officials were alerted to a bomb threat by email message this morning,” police chief Allison Elliot said at a press conference.
“The email was sent to multiple agencies and media outlets. This public safety threat prompted an immediate response from local and regional law enforcement.
“All of the occupied buildings were evacuated, and authorities investigated and cleared all facilities listed in the threat, with the assistance of explosive-detecting canines.”
‘My neighbour’s daughter’s friend’
The origin of the “meme”, as Mr Vance called it, appears to have been a Facebook post in a private group, whose members are from Springfield.
“My neighbour informed me that her daughter’s friend had lost her cat,” the post said.
“She checked pages, kennels, asked around. One day she came home from work. As soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbour’s house, where Haitians live, and saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do (to) a deer for butchering.
“They were carving it up to eat. I’ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at the park with ducks and geese.
“Please keep a close eye on these animals.”
That fourthhand story was picked up online by such public figures as Twitter owner Elon Musk, Republican Senator Ted Cruz, right-wing influencer Jack Posobiec and Charlie Kirk, the founder of conservative activist group Turning Point USA.
Some social media users shared fake, AI-generated images of Mr Trump saving cats, ducks and geese from dark-skinned men.
The rumours eventually made their way onto Mr Vance’s social media feed.
“In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who have said their neighbours’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants,” he wrote on Tuesday.
“It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumours will turn out to be false.”
‘I need to say something’: Musician slams Trump
Mr Trump held his Tucson rally at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, named after the famous Mexican-American singer. She wasn’t exactly thrilled by that fact.
“Donald Trump is holding a rally on Thursday in a rented hall in my hometown, Tucson. I would prefer to ignore that sad fact. But since the building has my name on it, I need to say something,” Ms Ronstadt said in a statement on Wednesday.
“It saddens me to see the former president bringing his hate show to Tucson, a town with deep Mexican-American roots and a joyful, tolerant spirit.
“I don’t just deplore his toxic politics, his hatred of women, immigrants and people of colour, his criminality, dishonestly and ignorance – although there is that.
“For me it comes down to this. Across the southern border, the Trump administration systematically ripped apart migrant families seeking asylum. Family separation made orphans of thousands of little children and babies, and brutalised their desperate mothers and fathers. It remains a humanitarian catastrophe.
“There is no forgiving or forgetting the heartbreak he caused.”
Ms Ronstadt’s political intervention came a few hours after Taylor Swift, with her 283 million Instagram followers, endorsed Mr Trump’s opponent.
“Like many of you, I watched the debate tonight,” Ms Swift wrote on Instagram.
“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and (Democratic vice presidential nominee) Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election. I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.
“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.
“I’ve done my research, and I’ve made my choice. Your research is all yours to do, and the choice is yours to make.”
