Ohio’s Republican governor is the latest person to weigh in on former President Donald Trump's false claims during the presidential debate that Haitian immigrants in the state were abducting and eating pets.
GOP Gov. Mike DeWine told CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent, Major Garrett, “the internet can be quite crazy sometimes” and that people shouldn’t buy into the narrative their pets are in danger.
DeWine’s comments come days after Trump amplified the rumors during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris.
“They’re eating the dogs. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there,” he said.
Harris called Trump “extreme” and laughed after his comment. Debate moderators pointed out that city officials have said the claims are not true.
DeWine’s exchange with Garrett on CBS:
Garrett: Governor, I never thought I’d ask you a question like this: Is anyone with undocumented status in Ohio, is any legal citizen resident of Ohio, eating dogs and cats illegally?
DeWine: Well, Major this is something that came up on the internet. The internet can be quite crazy sometimes and, look, the mayor, Mayor (Rob) Rue of Springfield, says no, there’s no truth in that. They have no evidence — at all. So I think we with what the mayor says. He knows his city.
Garrett did highlight how a woman in Dayton, Ohio, with “mental health issues” allegedly ate her neighbor’s cat, though she isn’t an immigrant.
Trump’s comments echoed claims made by his campaign, including his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and other Republicans. The claims attracted attention this week when Vance posted on social media that his office has “received many inquiries” about Haitian migrants abducting pets. Vance acknowledged Tuesday it was possible “all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
How did all of this get started?
On Sept. 6, a post surfaced on X that shared what looked like a screengrab of a social media post apparently out of Springfield. The retweeted post talked about the person’s “neighbor’s daughter’s friend” seeing a cat hanging from a tree to be butchered and eaten, claiming without evidence that Haitians lived at the house. The accompanying photo showed a Black man carrying what appeared to be a Canada goose by its feet. That post continued to get shared on social media.
On Monday, Vance posted on X. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” he said. The next day, Vance posted again on X about Springfield, saying his office had received inquires from residents who said “their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
Other Republicans shared similar posts. Among them was Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with a caption that said to vote for Trump “So Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
