‘ROASTED FLUFFY?’
Donald Trump managed to rattle even rank-and-file Republicans with his deranged, bogus conspiracy theory about Haitian migrants eating pets in Tuesday night’s debate.
- Can disgraced former President Trump ever push his die-hard supporters too far? For years, as he transgressed every moral and political norm up to the point of committing actual felonies, the answer has always been a resounding, “hell no!” And yet on Tuesday night, when the chips were down in the all-important debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump managed to make even some normie Republican voters deeply uncomfortable with his unhinged antics. As tensions rose on stage, Trump leaned into the microphone and bellowed an absolutely batshit, racist conspiracy theory, managing to sound like a boomer uncle after accidentally digging into his nephew’s stash of weed cookies at a family gathering: “They’re eating the dogs, the people that came in, they’re eating the cats,” Trump thundered. “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.”
- Many Americans had no clue what he was going on about. Trump was amplifying unsubstantiated reports about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating people’s pets and ducks from the local pond, which have surged in the right-wing online echochamber with a series of bizarre memes. Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), Trump’s running mate, has been at the forefront of this racist misinformation campaign, even while admitting that it might be false.
- Trump’s outburst went down like a bucket of bricks with Republicans in a Fox News focus group. Those Republicans, along with Democrats and independents, all expressed disapproval of Trump’s ravings about immigrants allegedly devouring pets. They weren’t the only ones on the right disappointed with Trump’s performance. Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the night a “missed opportunity” for Trump. Fox News’ Brit Hume deadpanned: “Make no mistake about it: Trump had a bad night.” Even MAGA billionaire Elon Musk admitted that Harris “exceeded most people’s expectations.”
- In keeping with the animal theme, GOP political strategist Karl Rove deployed his own barnyard metaphor to describe Trump’s defeat: “There’s no putting lipstick on this pig. Mr. Trump was crushed by a woman he previously dismissed as ‘dumb as a rock.’ Which raises the question: What does that make him?”
Locals in Springfield, Ohio, have expressed baffled dismay over finding themselves at the center of this wackadoodle right-wing conspiracy theory.
- “I looked on the menu of three of four restaurants here today, man. I didn’t see roasted Fluffy nowhere on it,” a local man said during a Springfield city hall forum on Tuesday, calling the claims “bull cocky.” To be sure, the town has experienced some changes. About 15,000 Haitians have arrived in the city of 59,000 residents over the last four years under Temporary Protected Status. Haiti’s capital has been overrun by violent gangs in recent years, contributing to the uptick in immigration. Ohio has recently announced plans to provide more resources to cope with the influx. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) now plans to send troopers and millions of dollars in healthcare resources into the city.
- MAGA Republicans have also latched onto the death of an 11-year-old boy, who was killed by a Haitian immigrant in a car crash last year, to make their anti-immigration case. Even the boy’s father wants them to shut up. “I wish that my son, Aiden Clark, was killed by a 60-year-old white man … the incessant group of hate-spewing people would leave us alone,” Nathan Clark told the city hall forum. “The last thing that we need is to have the worst day of our lives violently and constantly shoved in our faces, but even that’s not good enough for them. They take it one step further. They make it seem that our wonderful Aiden appreciates your hate, that we should follow their hate.”
Tens of millions of Americans will vote for Trump anyway, of course, literally no matter what he says. But in an election this tight, a couple percentage points can make all the difference. It now remains to be seen whether Trump’s ludicrous behavior on Tuesday night will prompt that kind of change.
For more on the debate, check out today’s episode of the What A Day podcast, right here.
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