Are people really eating cats and dogs? Trump vs Harris debate fact checked

Donald Trump has claimed immigrants are ‘coming in’ and eating family pets.

The bizarre rant came after his running mate JD Vance spread claims that Haitians were snatching cats and dogs in the town of Springfield.

During a televised debate with Kamala Harris, he said: ‘A lot of towns don’t want to talk about it because they’re so embarrassed by it.

‘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.’

Harris laughed and shook her head. Many Americans watching will have probably been holding theirs in their hands.

As the moderator pointed out, there have been no credible reports of any pets being harmed in this way and no evidence to support the claim.

Former US President Donald Trump was repeatedly fact-checked during the debate (Picture: Getty)

Democratic presidential candidate US Vice President Kamala Harris listens to Trump (Picture: EPA)

ABC’s David Muir said the network had contacted the city manager in Springfield.

‘He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,’ he added.

Authorities in Ohio have said they are aware of the ‘rumours’ but there are no credible or detailed reports to support them.

Trump, 78, countered that he had seen TV interviews of people who said their dogs had been taken and eaten.

His campaign has used the claims, which have gone viral in recent days, to argue immigrants are committing crimes at a higher rate than others.

The claim, thought to have been made up by far-right activists, was spread by Vance, who represents Ohio in the US Senate, as part of a political attack on Harris.

Springfield, a city of around 60,000 people, has taken in up to 20,000 migrants – many from Haiti – over the past four years, NPR reports.

Writing on X, Vance said: ‘Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?’

Border czar refers to a label given to Harris after she was tasked by President Joe Biden to investigate the causes of migration from Central America.

Trump repeated his falsehood that millions of migrants were pouring into the United States from foreign prisons and mental institutions.

‘They are taking over the towns. They’re taking over buildings. They’re going in violently,’ Trump said.

Migrants have not staged any violent takeovers of American towns.

Trump speaks to reporters in the spin room after a presidential debate with Kamala Harris (Picture: AP)

Harris, left, and second gentleman Doug Emhoff visit a watch party at Cherry Street Pier after the presidential debate in Philadelphia (Picture: AP)

Some of Harris’ claims were exaggerated or disputed by Trump, a Reuters Fact Check found, although the review did not flag major falsehoods on her end.

In one instance, Harris, 59, cited Trump as saying there would be a ‘bloodbath’ if he was not elected, a reference to a March 2024 speech he gave in Dayton, Ohio.

The Trump campaign later said that he was referring to the fate of the auto industry under the Biden administration.

Former president Trump also reiterated a falsehood – which he often shares at his rallies – 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 of Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.

The Democrat candidate has said she backs reinstating the landmark 1973 Roe v Wade Supreme Court ruling that recognised women’s constitutional right to abortion at up to around 24 to 28 weeks.

Harris and Walz do not support executing babies.

Later, during a discussion on the Middle East, Trump said Harris ‘hates’ Israel.

‘If she’s president, I believe that Israel will not exist within two years from now,’ Trump said, without sharing any evidence for such a claim.

‘The whole place is going to get blown up … Israel will be gone.’

Harris said it was ‘absolutely not true’ that she hated Israel and said she had supported the country throughout her career.

Trump also said crime rates were down globally, except in the United States, where he said rates were “through the roof.”

FBI data released in March showed homicides across the U.S. dropped by more than 13% in 2023, declining for the second consecutive year after a precipitous spike during the coronavirus pandemic.

The data is at odds with the public perception that crime is worsening, however.

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