Donald Trump Pushing Migrant Pet-Eating Claim at Debate Mocked: 'Cooked'

Donald Trump has been mocked on social media after repeating claims during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris that Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

On Tuesday, the two presidential candidates had their first—and possibly only—debate in Philadelphia, where they argued about the economy, abortion, foreign policy and immigration.

While responding to Harris' claim that people leave his rallies early, Trump said the reason people attend his rallies is because they "want to take their country back." He then linked their discussion of rally attendance to the immigration debate, which the pet-eating claims are rooted in.

"What they have done to our country by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country—and look at what's happening to the towns all over the United States," the former president said.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs—the people that came in," Trump continued. 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, and it's a shame."

On X, formerly Twitter, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat from California, commented on the moment: "Donald Trump is whining about crowd sizes and claiming people are eating their pets. We cannot take this man seriously."

CNN anchor Jim Acosta also criticized the Republican candidate, writing, "Still a bit dumbfounded that Trump was ranting about people eating pets and I've been covering him a while."

Political scientist Ian Bremmer said, "Could be a Simpsons episode," referencing the long-running animated sitcom set in a town called Springfield.

Media personality Kyle Kulinski said, "Trump brings up literal fake news about Haitian immigrants eating pets he is so cooked holy s***."

Newsweek has contacted Trump's team for comment via email outside normal working hours.

On social media, conservative figures have repeated claims that in Springfield, a city where the Haitian population has grown by about 20,000 in the past four years, immigrants were killing and eating people's pets and the ducks in local parks.

The allegation seems to have originated from a post in Springfield Ohio Crime and Information, a private Facebook group in which a member said they knew someone who had seen their daughter's friend's cat "hanging from a branch, like you'd do a deer for butchering," near a house where Haitians live, and that "they were carving it up to eat."

A local made similar accusations during a City Commission meeting on August 27. In a recording of the meeting, a man can be heard saying, "Bro, they're in the park grabbing up ducks by their necks and cutting their heads off and eating them."

On Monday, the Springfield Police Division told the Springfield News-Sun that it had received no official reports, adding that it was "not something that's on our radar right now."

A spokesperson for the city also told Newsweek there had been "no credible reports" of pets being harmed by the Haitian community.

During the presidential debate, ABC News moderator David Muir cited the same quote from Springfield's city manager to the former president. Trump responded, "Maybe that's a good thing to say for a city manager." He added, "We'll find out," after Muir repeated that city manager's statement that there was no evidence the claims were true.

Ohio Senator JD Vance, Trump's running mate, has long spoken out against the influx of Haitian migrants in Springfield. In a post on X, Vance said his office had received "many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants."

He added in a separate post: "In short, don't let the crybabies in the media dissuade you, fellow patriots. Keep the cat memes flowing."

On Tuesday, conservative outlet the Federalist reported on a call to the police about a group of Haitian migrants allegedly carrying four geese in Springfield on August 26.

In the recording, a man can be heard saying: "I'm sitting here. I'm riding on the trail. I'm going to my orientation for my job today, and I see a group of Haitian people. There was about four of 'em. They all had geese in their hands."

Following the debate, several of Trump's supporters referenced the call while defending the former president's comments.

On X, Collin Rugg, a co-owner of Trending Politics, wrote that Trump's comments "came just one hour" after the call "was leaked."

Conservative activist Naomi Seibt praised the former president's debate performance: "Donald Trump is just delivering one W after another. He has never been in better condition. And Kamala's FAILURE is such an embarrassing circus clown show that he wouldn't even need it. The GOAT is back in town, saving pets while sending brute animals back to their countries."