‘Not true’: Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance erupts over ‘eating cats’
The false claims that immigrants were eating cats and dogs has roared back into life in a tetchy exchange during the view presidential debate.
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The two US vice presidential candidates have clashed furiously over claims immigrants have been eating pets during the pair’s only debate before election day which will decide if Kamala Harris or Donald Trump gets the keys to the White House.
“It’s not true,” Ms Harris’ running mate Tim Walz said about the pet claims which his rival JD Vance helped spread.
Even senior Republicans cautioned against further pushing the rumours that had been roundly dismissed.
Hosted by US TV network CBS in New York City, the vice presidential debate between Minnesota Governor Walz and Ohio Senator Vance was watched by tens of millions of Americans. And in such a tight presidential race, even a few voters that switched sides due to the debate could have a dramatic outcome of the race.
A false rumour, spread by far right groups on social media in September, claimed that pet dogs and cats were being eaten by Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city of Springfield.
Mr Vance then took to his social media to bring attention to those rumours.
“Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” Mr Vance wrote,
“Where is our border tsar?,” he added in reference to Ms Harris, who had a role in attempting to discourage immigrants from making the trip to the US frontier.
It was claims that Donald Trump then sensationally repeated during his debate with Ms Harris.
“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” he said.
The Republican Governor of Ohio, Mike de Wine, asked Mr Vance and Mr Trump to stop repeating the false claims.
Mr Vance later admitted to “creating stories” in relation to the pet eating claims but justified doing so by saying it brought attention to immigration.
‘Not true’
During the debate, Mr Walz resurrected the Springfield claims.
“This is what happened when you don’t want to solve (immigration), you demonise (immigrants),” he said.
“Senator Vance, it surprises me (you) saying ‘I will create stories to bring attention to this’.
“That vilified a large number of people who were legally in Springfield,” Mr Walz said.
“The Republican governor said ‘it’s not true, don’t do it’
“There’s consequences for (saying) this”.
Mr Vance claimed Ms Harris was responsible for large numbers of immigrants coming into the US.
“Governor Walz brought up the community of Springfield, and he’s very worried about the things that I’ve said in Springfield.
“Look, in Springfield, Ohio, and in communities all across this country, you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed, you’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you’ve got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants to compete with Americans for scarce homes.
“The people that I’m most worried about in Springfield, Ohio are the American citizens who have had their lives destroyed by Kamala Harris’s open border.”
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Originally published as ‘Not true’: Vice Presidential debate between Tim Walz and JD Vance erupts over ‘eating cats’
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