Donald Trump latched onto a new false claim before a prime-time debate audience of 67 million people: Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating people\u2019s pets. He defended his inaccurate assertions that he won the 2020 election and that Kamala Harris misrepresented her racial identity. The next day he went to memorials for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks with far-right conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer \u2014 who last year shared a video declaring the assault an \u201cinside job\u201d and more recently helped spread baseless allegations that Harris got forbidden debate tips through high-tech pearl earrings.<\/p>\n
By the end of the week \u2014 with some of his allies squirming \u2014 Trump was pushing the idea, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear she got the questions,\u201d Trump of Harris at his Friday night rally in Las Vegas, suggesting his opponent had the debate topics in advance. \u201cAnd I also hear she had something in the ear, a little something in the ear. \u2018No Kamala, do this \u2014 say it this way Kamala.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Led by Trump, Republicans have increasingly embraced groundless allegations that were once relegated to the political fringes, ensuring they are part of the party\u2019s message to voters in the final, critical months of this year\u2019s election. Their approach has been on vivid display lately, from the debate stage in Philadelphia to other high-profile public appearances to social media \u2014 where false information has spread quickly and Trump has been posting a stream of artificial intelligence-generated images of himself with pets supposedly under threat. In the process, they have perpetuated pernicious stereotypes about immigrants and others that critics have called dangerous.<\/p>\n
More than a decade after launching his political career with the baseless allegations that Barack Obama was not born the U.S., the former president and his allies continue to spout meritless tales that find a wide audience on the right \u2014 despite renewed objections from conservatives who call it unproductive.<\/p>\n
Even some of Trump\u2019s staunchest allies in Congress were aghast at Loomer\u2019s appearances with Trump, with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) saying he hopes \u201cthis problem gets resolved.\u201d Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Friday called Loomer a \u201ccrazy conspiracy theorist\u201d and declared that a \u201cDNC plant couldn\u2019t do a better job than she is doing to hurt President Trump\u2019s chances of winning reelection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEnough,\u201d he pleaded.<\/p>\n
Trump defended Loomer at a Friday news conference. Hours later, he wrote in a post on Truth Social: \u201cI disagree with the statements she made but, like the many millions of people who support me, she is tired of watching the Radical Left Marxists and Fascists violently attack and smear me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as some Republicans suggested that Trump instead focus his attention on substantively discussing matters where the party has a clear political advantage, many GOP leaders dodged questions about the Haitian immigrant claims, and a few prominent Republicans placed the blame on Trump and his history of pushing false, fringe notions into the mainstream.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re on the ballot this fall, you have to be nervous about this type of distraction,\u201d said former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, who unsuccessfully challenged Trump in the 2024 primaries. He said outlandish claims such as the viral, debunked rumor about pet-eating Haitians \u201cundermine the substance\u201d of the issue Republicans want to press \u2014 in this case, immigration.<\/p>\n
\u201cConspiracy theories have been around a long time,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the difference is that you have leaders embracing conspiracy theories rather than responding with the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s campaign did not respond Friday to a request for comment.<\/p>\n
One of the most attention-grabbing assertions circulating on the right centers on the town of Springfield, Ohio, where a wave of dehumanizing social media posts asserted that Haitian immigrants there were killing and eating people\u2019s pets. After Trump\u2019s running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), elevated the claim \u2014 saying he had reports from constituents but that, \u201cit\u2019s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false\u201d \u2014 police officials said there is no evidence to support the notion. But Trump repeated it in Tuesday night\u2019s presidential debate, saying immigrants in Springfield are \u201ceating the dogs\u201d and \u201ceating the cats.\u201d<\/p>\n
Springfield, with a population of roughly 60,000, has had an influx of an estimated 15,000-20,000 Haitians who were granted temporary protective status in the U.S. ever since the country was overtaken by gang violence and chaos. But while parts of the town\u2019s economy have been boosted by the immigrant workforce, other services have strained to accommodate the expanded population. After Trump repeated the unsubstantiated smear from the debate stage, a bomb threat used \u201chateful language\u201d toward Haitians and targeted city hall and other buildings in the city, including an elementary school, according to the mayor.<\/p>\n
As the pet-eating claims jumped from social media to Vance to Trump himself, some Republicans aired their frustrations publicly. They suggested their party was too beholden to false allegations that resonate with a hardcore swath of the base but confuse or appall other Americans.<\/p>\n
\u201cJUST GOT TRUMP TO REPEAT YOUR LIE ABOUT THE PETS,\u201d read one profanity-laced message the conservative commentator Erick Erickson posted on social media. \u201cCONGRATS ON SETTING THE NEWS STORIES TOMORROW BY LYING SO TRUMP PICKS IT UP.\u201d Trump, Erickson said in another post, \u201cgets what he deserves \u2026 surrounded by crazy people who say crazy things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s allies in Congress were once again put on the spot. Ahead of the debate on Tuesday, as Vance took up the pet-eating rumors, Sen. Rick Scott (R) \u2014 who is running for reelection in Florida, home to many Haitians \u2014 told HuffPost, \u201cI\u2019ve got a wonderful experience with Haitians in my state.\u201d After the debate, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) walked away from reporters when they began to ask about Trump\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t respond to quotes,\u201d Rep. John Duarte told online news site NOTUS when asked about the Springfield issue, before adding that he \u201cwouldn\u2019t have said it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, many others defended Trump\u2019s comments. Darrell Scott, an Ohio-based pastor and longtime Trump supporter who is helping with Black voter outreach, pointed to a resident\u2019s call to police alleging they saw Haitian migrants carrying geese and said Democrats have previously discounted claims that end up having merit.<\/p>\n
Trump \u201chas a history of saying things that people discounted initially,\u201d Scott said. When Trump says something, he added, \u201cI take his word.\u201d<\/p>\n
David Jolly, a former Republican congressman who now supports Harris, said the claims\u2019 quick spread on the right reflects \u201cthe currency of the anti-immigrant movement in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow did we get to Haitians eating dogs? Its all rooted in that,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a simple reflection of where their politics are.\u201d<\/p>\n
With polls showing Trump holding a clear advantage on immigration, some Republicans have suggested that there are numerous other, more effective avenues for raising the issue. \u201cThere are plenty of things to talk about \u2014 including the overwhelming impact that some communities are having on their community services. That impact is undeniable. Other things are a distraction,\u201d said former Republican senator Roy Blunt of Missouri.<\/p>\n
Trump on Friday brushed off concerns about his decision to amplify the false claims about Haitians. \u201cThe real threat is what\u2019s happening at our border,\u201d he told reporters at a news conference.<\/p>\n
When it comes to Loomer, Trump has praised and amplified her on social media throughout his campaign, at one point sharing her false statement that Harris\u2019s birth certificate shows she is \u201clying about being Black.\u201d (The document Loomer shared accurately lists Harris\u2019s father as \u201cJamaican\u201d \u2014 which does not mean she is not Black. Harris is Black and Indian American.)<\/p>\n
Trump on Friday defended Loomer as \u201cstrong person\u201d with \u201cstrong opinions.\u201d Asked at the news conference about her comments about 9\/11 as well as recent racist remarks about Harris, Trump said he would try to learn more and issue a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t control Laura,\u201d Trump said. \u201cLaura has to say what she wants. She\u2019s a free spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked for comment on Friday, Loomer said she did not believe the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were an \u201cinside job\u201d when she shared a video with that phrase.<\/p>\n
The former president also recently shared posts with explicit nods to QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that has gained particular traction among his supporters and casts Trump as a savior fighting shadowy forces \u2014 often Democrats or societal elites \u2014 who sex-traffic children. The crowds at Trump rallies are dotted with Q references: A \u201cWe the Q People\u201d T-shirt, a license plate with the QAnon slogan \u201cWWG1WGA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Republicans have rallied behind Trump\u2019s allegations of vast government conspiracies to thwart him, including Trump\u2019s frequent, unsubstantiated accusation that Biden and Harris are behind his criminal prosecutions. Some have claimed without evidence that Democrats are illegally registering undocumented immigrants to vote; Trump said at Tuesday\u2019s debate that \u201cpeople are trying to get them to vote, and that\u2019s why they\u2019re allowing them into our country.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zachary Mueller, research director at America\u2019s Voice \u2014 which advocates for a path to citizenship for undocumented people \u2014 said anti-immigrant conspiracy theories are \u201cno longer coming from kooks in the basement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s new is how mainstream all of this is,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat\u2019s new is how central it is to the presidential campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although conspiracy theories and false statements have long been present in campaigns, Trump\u2019s candidacy for president ushered in an era defined by powerful political myths that bound him to his followers, experts say.<\/p>\n
\u201cPoliticians who want greater control over the electorate need to get their followers on board and they can do that by getting them to deny what they see with their own eyes,\u201d said Kim Lane Scheppele, a professor of sociology who studies the rise and fall of constitutional governments at Princeton. \u201cHow do they do that? They tell people what to believe and then they attack the institutions that would normally be a source of truthful information.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump supporters regularly echo the former president\u2019s false statements at his rallies. But some are eager to focus elsewhere. When Joanne Pierce, who is Native American, repeated the inaccurate claim that Harris isn\u2019t Black at a rally for Vance this summer, her White friend Linda Jenkins tried to intervene.<\/p>\n
\u201cListen to me. Half of her is Asian because she comes from India and the other half is Jamaican,\u201d Jenkins said as they sat together in Glendale, Ariz. She asked if Pierce, 69, had seen pictures of Harris\u2019s Black father.<\/p>\n
Pierce shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know what? I don\u2019t even care,\u201d said Jenkins, 73. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter because I don\u2019t care about people, I care about policy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meryl Kornfield in Glendale, Ariz., contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Donald Trump latched onto a new false claim before a prime-time debate audience of 67 million people: Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating people\u2019s pets. He defended his inaccurate assertions that he won the 2020 election and that Kamala Harris misrepresented her racial identity. The next day he went to memorials for the Sept. 11 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":9582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}