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Nearly half of Donald Trump voters say they believe his debunked claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating residents’ pets.
Some 52 percent of Trump voters said that the claim is “definitely” or “probably” true, according to a post-debate poll by YouGov released this week. Meanwhile, 24 percent of Trump voters said they’re “not sure” if it’s true, while 25 percent said it’s “probably” or “definitely” false.
On the other hand, 81 percent of Kamala Harris voters said the claim is “definitely false.”
The former president, his running mate JD Vance and GOP allies like Ohio Representative Jim Jordan have repeatedly spread the false claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield are eating residents’ pets.
The claim has been repeatedly debunked. Springfield’s city manager has confirmed there have been no credible, specific reports of pets being harmed. Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, a Republican, also called the untrue conspiracy theory “a piece of garbage that was simply not true.”
Despite this, Trump amplified the false claim during the presidential debate with Harris last week. When moderator David Muir fact-checked the claim live on-air, Trump still pushed it.
“ABC News did reach out to the city manager there,” Muir said during the debate. “He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
“Well, I’ve seen people on television. 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,” Trump responded.
The White House has also condemned the false claims.
“I think it’s important that all of us take a step back here and just lean on the facts here,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Thursday. “The Springfield, Ohio police department has debunked this very bizarre and very hateful smear that’s out there.”
The lies have sent shockwaves through Springfield. On Thursday, a bomb threat forced the evacuation of city hall and two schools.
Local officials said the threat explicitly “used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community.”
On Monday, threats continued to pour in. As a result, two more schools in Springfield evacuated while two nearby college campuses moved classes online and canceled on-campus events.
The same YouGov poll showed that Trump voters also believed other debunked claims he has spread.
Some 28 percent of Trump voters say it’s “definitely” or “probably” true that public schools are providing students with sex-change operations, an untrue claim the former president made earlier this year.
Meanwhile, 75 percent of Trump voters say President Joe Biden did not legitimately win the 2020 election, an untrue claim the former president has peddled for nearly four years.
