A recent poll reveals that a significant portion of Republicans found former President Donald Trump’s comments about Haitian immigrants eeating the pets during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris to be strange. Trump’s remark stemmed from social media rumors, which lack supporting evidence, that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were involved in such actions.
City officials have dismissed these allegations, stating that no reports exist of immigrants harming or consuming pets in the community. Despite this, Trump, along with Ohio Senator JD Vance, has continued to push the narrative. The former president reiterated this claim during the debate, which prompted a fact-check by the ABC News moderators. Trump suggested that Haitian immigrants were eating local pets, a statement that received widespread attention.
Polling results found Trump’s eating the pets comment odd
Data for Progress, in a poll published on Friday, indicated that a clear majority of voters found Trump’s comment odd. This view was shared across political affiliations, with 69 percent of Republicans, 91 percent of Democrats, and 77 percent of independents agreeing that the remark was unusual. Among all voters, 64 percent described the statement as “very weird” and 16 percent as “somewhat weird.” The poll was conducted on September 11-12, surveying 1,283 likely U.S. voters, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment on Saturday.
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Origin of the eating the pets rumors amplified by Trump
The rumors began when Erika Lee, a Springfield resident, made a Facebook post accusing Haitian immigrants of eating pets, which brought national attention to the small town. She later admitted that she had no direct evidence to support her claim, explaining to NBC News that the situation spiraled out of control in a way she had not anticipated. Her post, which speculated about a neighbor’s missing cat and blamed the local Haitian community, was widely shared on social media. NewsGuard, an organization fighting online misinformation, noted that Lee was among the first to spread the baseless rumor. Her neighbor, Kimberly Newton, reportedly got the information from a third party.
Accusations of racism
Lee, addressing accusations of racism, emphasized that she did not intend for her comments to be perceived that way, stating that she is of mixed race, part of the LGBTQ+ community, and that her daughter is half Black. The spread of the rumor also involved a video showing a woman who was arrested for allegedly killing and eating a cat. While the video was from Ohio, it was taken in Canton, more than 170 miles away from Springfield. The woman in question, Alexis Ferrell, is a U.S. citizen and not an immigrant. Local law enforcement confirmed that Ferrell has a history with authorities dating back to 2011, with prior charges in 2017. She remains in jail with a bond set at $100,000.
