Social media has been flooded with ‘Pets for Trump’ memes after he accused migrants of ‘eating dogs and cats’ during a debate with Kamala Harris last night.
The former president appeared visibly irritated as Harris goaded him live on ABC over his rally crowd sizes, his record on abortion and his criminal trials.
Trump went on to accuse Haitian migrants of ‘eating pets’ in Springfield, Ohio, an unsubstantiated claim that first appeared on social media.
‘In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in, they’re eating the cats,’ the former president said. ‘They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.’
Harris could be heard muttering ‘What? This is unbelievable’ before adding ‘talk about extreme’ and laughing.
Social media users seized on the bizarre exchange and started sharing dozens of memes under the hashtag #PetsForTrump.
However, while some openly mocked the Republican nominee, others appeared to have been embraced by Trump supporters.
One video made up of AI generated images shows a dog holding a banner that reads ‘Haitians ate my mom’.
This is then followed by a roll of pictures of pets with signs saying ‘Vote Trump’ and ‘Trump 2024’.
Another clip with the caption ‘Cats in Ohio right now’ shows kittens carrying out a number of daredevil escapes along high wires.
The post is captioned: ‘They’re eating the cats! They’re eating, they’re eating the pets.’
A third AI image depicts Trump wearing a suit of armor and holding a sword with several cats hiding behind him. The post has the caption: ‘If you don’t want your pets to get eaten vote for Trump.’
And a fourth shows Trump riding a large ginger cat with a rifle in hand and dozens of kittens around him.
Springfield has been a flashpoint in the debate over immigration ever since thousands of Haitian migrants arrived in the city in 2020 to fill jobs vacancies.
Willing to do the blue-collar jobs locals were unenthusiastic about, the Haitians, who were already in the country legally, moved to the town.
Within a few years, 20,000 immigrants arrived, swelling Springfield’s population, which was only 58,000 in 2020.
The immigrants are there legally and eligible to apply for Temporary Protected Status, according to an Immigration FAQ page on the city’s website, which says the total immigration population in Clark County is an estimated 12,000 to 15,000.
But their arrival has put a strain on medical services and the education system, sparking debate and rumors on social media.
When Trump initially made his comments about migrants eating pets, ABC News debate moderator David Muir stepped in to say: ‘I just want to clarify here, you bring up Springfield, Ohio.
‘And ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals.’
It was one of the most dramatic moments of a monumental night in the 2024 race where Harris scored a sought-after endorsement from Taylor Swift and was widely declared the winner of the showdown.
She went into the debate last night under pressure to deliver in front of an audience expected to run into the tens of millions.
Harris started on the front foot by surprising Trump by approaching him to shake his hand before they took to their lecterns.
Then the niceties ended.
Trump, who only a few weeks ago had believed himself to be cruising to victory, reacted to pressure from Harris by resorting to the kinds of finger-jabbing insults and meandering invective that he uses at his rallies.
Trump gestures as he is rattled by Harris’ personal attacks
Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the spin room after the debate
Harris responded by looking on in amusement and occasionally exclaiming ‘c’mon’, before declaring that she represents a fresh start after the ‘mess’ of the Trump presidency – and saying: ‘We’re not going back.’
One of the most intense exchanges between the two candidates was on abortion.
Trump insisted that while having pushed for the end of the federal right to abortion, he wanted individual states to make their own policy.
Harris said he was telling a ‘bunch of lies’ and called his policies ‘insulting to the women of America.’
Within minutes, Trump hammered at the Democrat’s weak spot on immigration by falsely claiming that she and Biden had allowed ‘millions of people pouring into our country from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and insane asylums.’
Harris pointed out that Trump is a convicted felon, called him ‘extreme’ and said it is ‘a tragedy’ that throughout his career he had used ‘race to divide the American people.’
The rivals also clashed on foreign policy, with Harris telling Trump that Russian President Vladimir Putin would ‘eat you for lunch’ when it came to the war in Ukraine and that foreign dictators were ‘laughing’ at him.
Trump shot back by accusing Harris of being weak on the war in Gaza, saying she ‘hated Israel’ and that Israel would be ‘gone’ within two weeks if she was president.
Democratic presidential nominee and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris visits a watch party after participating in the presidential debate
US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff attend a watch party
Vice President Kamala Harris stops by the Harris-Walz campaign’s Presidential Debate Watch Party after a strong showing in a debate against Trump
Democrat nominee Kamala Harris during the debate on ABC last night
Trump had long seemed invulnerable prior to the debate
Another jarring moment came when Trump doubled down on his unprecedented refusal to accept losing to Biden in the 2020 election, before trying to overturn the result.
Harris responded by mocking his catchphrase as a reality TV star.
‘Donald Trump was fired by 81 million people. So let’s be clear about that. And clearly he is having a very difficult time processing that,’ she said.
‘And I’m going to tell you that I have traveled the world as vice president of the United States. And world leaders are laughing at Donald Trump.’
