One of the most bizarre moments of Tuesday's Donald Trump-Kamala Harris debate was how the former President pushed the baseless claim of immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio.
Repeating a baseless rumour that did rounds on social media, Trump told millions of American viewers while discussing immigration. "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, and this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame."
Harris immediately laughed at the remark and shook her head. To Trump's dismay,
However, to Trump's dismay, ABC's moderator David Muir immediately fact-checked his claims. He said the city manager in Springfield, Ohio, told the network there had been no credible reports of pets being harmed, injured or abused by people in the city's immigrant community.
Trump was repeating the rumours spreading on social media that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are abducting and eating pets, a rumour dispelled by the police department. The police released a statement on Monday stating that there have so far been no such cases reported. "There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," the police said in a statement.
Interestingly, Trump's running mate and Ohio Sen. JD Vance too echoed the rumours to add weight to his claim that the immigrants were causing chaos. Vance, though, added a rider that "it was possible that all of these rumours would turn out to be false."
This wasn't the only baseless claim Trump peddled in Tuesday's debate. He reiterated a falsehood while taking a potshot at Harris's running mate Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, stating that Democrats are so extreme on abortion rights that they support killing newborns. "Her vice presidential pick says abortion in the ninth month is absolutely fine. He also says execution after birth," Trump said.
Both Harris and Walz never made such a statement, and Harris has said she backs reinstating the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling that recognized women's constitutional right to abortion at up to around 24 to 28 weeks.
Trump also said Harris "hates" Israel" and Israel would not exist if she became the president. The whole place is going to get blown up ... Israel will be gone."
All these claims were made without any evidence. Harris reacted to the claim, stating it was "absolutely not true" that she hated Israel and said she had supported the country throughout her career.