Donald Trump followed in the footsteps of his running mate JD Vance and used the presidential debate to promote a racist lie accusing Haitian immigrants of “eating pets.”
The false accusation came as Trump attacked the Biden-Harris administration over immigration policy.
“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 and this is what’s happening in our country,” Trump said.
As he spoke, Vice President Kamala Harris laughed and shook her head in astonishment.
Following Trump’s speech, debate moderator David Muir fact checked his claim.
“You bring up Springfield, Ohio, and ABC News did reach out to the city manager there—he told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Muir said.
Trump refused to back down and insisted that he had seen “people on television” making the accusation.
Trump has a long history of promoting false accusations against immigrants and indulging in racist attacks against the migrant community.
