Trump claims Haiti migrants are 'eating dogs, cats'. Musk and Vance believe him

As Kamala Harris and Donald Trump faced off against each other in the presidential debate on Tuesday evening (Sep 10), some strange comments by the latter caught everyone's attention.

During the fiery debate, matters like abortion and migrants came up. On one occasion, Trump said that Haitian migrants were "eating pets" in Springfield, Ohio.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there," Trump said.

Harris was shocked to hear the strange claims made by the former president and responded with, "What? This is unbelievable. Talk about extreme," and let out a laugh.

The matter of Haitians being accused of eating pets in Ohio first came to light following some social media posts and unsubstantiated claims made by people living in the area. Some people in the area say that the migrants are stealing pets from yards and ducks from parks and eating them.

Trump is not the only onesaying this. His running mate, JD Vance, has also backed the reports, saying he has received several complaints about it. He raised the matter in a social media post. "People have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country," Vance wrote on X.

“Senator Vance has received a high volume of calls and emails over the past several weeks from concerned citizens in Springfield: his tweet is based on what he is hearing from them,” one of his spokespersons told The Hill.

Also Read:Viral claims suggest Haitian migrants are eating pets and ducks from parks in Ohio

Even X owner, Elon Musk, has pushed these claims further, re-posting AI photos of Trump saving ducks and cats, one of which was originally posted by House Judiciary GOP.

🥰 https://t.co/b2NIbLkgIL — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2024

Save them! 😢 pic.twitter.com/aLMPTJIPd9 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 9, 2024

Claims on social media

During a meeting of the Springfield City Commission in August, a man claimed that migrants from Haiti were stealing and beheading ducks taken from local parks and then taking them home to eat. However, he did not provide any proof.

“They’re in the park grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off and walking up with them and eating them,” the man said.

A woman later claimed, as per the Springfield Facebook group, that a friend's cat went missing and she later saw it hanging in the yard of the home of a Haitian migrant, all butchered up.

However, none of the claims were verified.

Even during the debate, ABC News moderator David Muir clarified that the officials in Springfield have not found any proof of such a thing happening. "I just want to clarify here, you bring up Springfield, Ohio. And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals."

Meanwhile, some social media commenters are calling the claims "racist, xenophobic responses to Springfield’s shifting demographics". Notably, the white population has been declining in the city and that of blacks and Hispanics is rising.