Trump repeats baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating pets

PHILADELPHIA — A baseless claim that illegal immigrants from Haiti have been eating domestic pets in a small Ohio city has been repeated by Donald Trump.

During ABC’s presidential debate, Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.” But city officials have told BBC Verify there have been “no credible reports” that this has actually happened. The baseless claim had spread on social media, with Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance promoting it on X. As of today, the post has had more than 11 million views. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Vance’s comments “dangerous” and a “conspiracy theory… based on an element of racism.”

Where did the claim come from?

The claim appears to have come from a number of different sources which have been turned into a cohesive – though baseless – story by pro-Trump social media accounts. At a 27 August meeting of Springfield’s city commission, a local resident who describes himself as a social media influencer launched into a speech against Haitian immigrants. He gave a long list of grievances, including that they were slaughtering park ducks for food, and accused city officials of being paid to bring in immigrants, but provided no evidence for these claims.