A stream of The Simpsons memes erupted on social media in response to the presidential debate on Tuesday – specifically after Trump's unfounded claim that gave a shout-out to Springfield.
Citing the television and baseless social media rumors, Trump alleged that Haitian immigrants residing in Springfield, Ohio, were kidnapping dogs and cats – and then eating them.
The outlandish comment happened within just 30 minutes of the debate, sparking not only concern for the widespread issue of misinformation, but jokes relating to the longest-running animation series in history – The Simpsons.
While also being a city in Ohio, the show's fictional location also has the same name.
During the presidential debate, former president, Donald Trump, made an unhinged claim – that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were abducting cats and dogs – and then eating them
After Trump's outlandish accusation, Simpson fans took to social media saying that the show may have predicted Trump's ‘dog-eating' comment through one of their episodes
In his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris, Trump said: ‘In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that come in. They're eating the cats.
‘They're eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what's happening in our country, and it's a shame'.
The unfounded statement was immediately debunked by ABC News moderator, David Muir, who fact-checked the former president before correcting him, saying: ‘ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individual within the immigrant community'.
But the ordeal sparked hilarious comparisons to The Simpsons online.
Political scientist, Ian Bremmer, took to X during the debate to quote Trump's claim, saying: ‘Could be a Simpsons episode'.
Trump doubled down on his statement, interrupting Muir. He said: ‘People on television say, “My dog was taken and used for food” so maybe he said that and maybe that's a good thing to say for a city manager'.
Springfield Mayor, Rob Rue, reiterated the inaccuracy of the rumor, saying that the city had no documented cases of immigrants eating pets.
The Simpsons has a reputation of being able to predict major news events.
Fans of the show took to social media to re-circulate an old episode that ‘predicted' Trump's false claim.
Political scientist, Ian Bremmer, took to X during the debate after Trump's comment about ‘dog-eating', saying ‘could be a Simpsons episode'
One user on X said: ‘Donald Trump thinks he's living in The Simpsons…'
In the episode, Homer Simpson was handed a beer by his buddy to try. He seemed to enjoy it – stating that it was ‘cold, refreshing, and something I can't quite put my finger on'.
In the next scene, the viewers see the beer being created in a factory – with none other than dogs swimming in the liquid. After taste-testing, the character said: ‘Needs more dog'.
The jokes didn't end there. Given that Trump referenced a city named Springfield, it didn't take long for the Simpson fanatics to reference the fictional hometown – and the family's fictional dog, Santa's little helper.
In one X post, a user wrote: ‘IN SPRINGFIELD THEY'RE EATING THE DOGS', which was accompanied by a picture of the cartoon pup, side-eyeing the screen.
In another post, a user wrote: I'm sorry, Santa's little helper, but Springfield's different these days. You need to stay in the house', along with a photo of an upset Bart Simpson talking to his dog.
Santa's little helper, the family dog on the fictional show, was one of the main surrounding themes of the jokes on social media
Trump's unhinged claim was in reference to a rumor spread by his running mate, JD Vance – that Haitian immigrants in Ohio have been abducting pets and consuming them, ‘causing chaos' in the town.
The claim largely stems from social media, including a Facebook group called ‘Springfield Ohio Crime and Information,' where a member said they knew someone who had seen a cat hanging from a branch in a way that looked like it was going to be ‘butchered and carved' near a house where Haitians lived, according to Newsweek.
At a meeting of the city commission, the Springfield mayor said: ‘Rumors like these are taking away from the real issues such as housing concerns, resources needed for our schools and our overwhelmed health care system.'
John Kirby, the national security spokesperson for the White House, also denounced Trump's claims – labeling it as a dangerous conspiracy theory that could inspire violence against immigrants.
Immigration is a dominant subject in the presidential race. It was found that 22 percent of voters put immigration and the border as the most important issue facing the country, according to a poll conducted by NBC in April.
Ever since Elon Musk dropped ‘Grok-2', an AI generated platform available through X, users have been making memes of Trump saving animals from ‘being eaten by Haitian immigrants'
In some of the AI posts created, Trump is shirtless and appears to be running away from people depicted as ‘dog-eaters'
Springfield, Ohio, is home to roughly 60,000 people but has seen thousands of immigrants arriving to the state in recent years – many of which are from Haiti.
City officials say that up to 20,000 immigrants have made Springfield their new home, reversing a long decline of the city's population dropping over the last 60 years, according to the BBC.
Although there were many memes circulating around Trump's comments throughout the entire debate, his Springfield comment seemed to take the cake for the favorite – and most insane – on social media.
