Debate Takes a Detour to Immigrant-Pet Rumors

The presidential debate took an unusual turn in its first hour when Donald Trump repeated the unsubstantiated assertion that immigrants in Ohio were eating residents' pets. "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs—the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said, reports Politico. As he spoke, Kamala Harris shook her head and laughed and appeared to mouth the word, "What?" reports the New York Times.

Moderator David Muir chimed in that the Springfield city manager has responded to the rumors by saying there is no credible reports of pets being eaten, to which Trump responded, "I saw people on TV talking about it." When Harris responded, she laughed again and said, "Talk about extreme." Trump running mate JD Vance previously tweeted about the accusation regarding Haitian immigrants in Springfield.

Earlier, the White House criticized the anti-immigrant rumors, notes Politico. "This kind of language, this kind of disinformation, is dangerous because there will be people that believe it, no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is," said National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby. "And they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt. So it needs to stop." (More presidential debate stories.)