J.D. Vance explains what Trump meant when he claimed migrants are ‘eating’ cats and dogs

Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance has been under pressure following the former president’s dubious claims that migrants are cooking domestic and wild geese in an Ohio town.

“Migrants are eating the cats,” Trump said during the first presidential debate with Vice President Kamala Harris. “They’re eating the dogs.”

The dubious claims stem from a story out of Ohio, where “reports are now showing that people’s pets have been kidnapped and eaten by people who don’t belong here,” Vance posted on X this week.

The vice presidential candidate later retracted his claims in a subsequent message, saying, “It is of course possible that all of these rumors turn out to be false.”

But that didn’t stop Trump from talking about it during his debate with Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.

And the discussion about eating animals is still relevant online after the debate.

“Trump just told tens of millions of people,” CNN host Kaitlan Collins said in a post-debate interview with Vance. “Why would you promote something that’s not true?”

According to Vance, the campaign has been approached by people “on the ground” who have told stories confirming the migrants’ suspicious eating habits.

He confirmed that they have received “both first-hand and second-hand reports of these types of things happening.”

He then lunged at Collins.

“I think it’s important for journalists to be on the ground and report on this themselves,” the Republican said.

“If you have a lot of people saying, ‘My pets are being kidnapped,’ or ‘The geese at the city pond are being kidnapped and slaughtered right in front of our eyes,’ that’s insane,” Vance continued.

“Whether those rumors are mostly true, or somewhat true, whatever it is, Kaitlan, this city has been destroyed.”

Collins responded, “Senator, if someone calls your office and says he saw Big Foot, that doesn’t mean he saw Big Foot.”

When she tried to find more evidence that Ohioans hunt and then prepare geese or domestic animals, Vance provided no further details.

However, he did note that the story, which has spawned numerous AI images online showing Trump posing as a protector of the furry and feathered animals, has helped raise awareness about immigration issues.

‘The media was not interested in the carnage that these people committed. [immigration] “We still didn’t have a policy until we turned it into a meme about cats,” Vance said.

It all started after an Ohio man made wild and unsubstantiated claims that illegal immigrants from Haiti were eating pets and wild birds.

The viral posts emerged after a Springfield, Ohio resident claimed he Haitian migrants behead ducks in public parks and eat them.

The Ohio man stood up to raise the issue last month at a city commission meeting about the influx of legal Haitian immigrants.

“I really challenge you to come here and do something,” he said at the meeting.

“These Haitians are running into trash cans, they’re running into buildings… they’re overturning cars in the middle of the street…”

Reports of migrants eating animals such as ducks remain unconfirmed.

“Months ago I addressed the problem of illegal Haitian immigrants draining social services and causing chaos throughout Springfield, Ohio,” Vance posted on X on Monday, alongside a video in which he previously spoke about the crisis in the city.

“Reports are coming in that people’s pets have been kidnapped and eaten by people who don’t belong here,” he added, referring to the gruesome stories.

“Where is our border tsar?” the message continued.

In the attached video, Vance reads from a document outlining how the city deals with its Haitian migrant population.

“Springfield has experienced population growth due to immigration, which has had a significant impact on our ability as a community to create adequate housing for everyone,” the Republican said during a Senate hearing.

“The Haitian community in Springfield has grown by 15,000 to 20,000 residents in the past four years, up from less than 60,000 previously.”

However, he later corrected those comments.

On Tuesday morning, Vance posted on X: “Over the past few weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual Springfield residents claiming that their neighbors’ pets or local wildlife have been kidnapped by Haitian migrants. It is, of course, possible that all of these rumors turn out to be untrue.”

But that didn’t stop users from enjoying this crazy trend.

“Cats lives matter. Ducks lives matter. Vote Trump to save them,” one user posted on X alongside an image of Trump holding a duck and a cat while wearing a red cape.

“Today, finds from a certain political corner of X: memes of Trump saving cats and ducks from Haitian migrants,” conservative commentator Marina Medvin posted on X.

“I normally find Trump memes annoying but these are well made,” she continued in her post.

Another user on the platform posted an AI-generated image of Trump wearing armor and holding a sword: “Don’t worry, America. Donald Trump is coming to end Kamala’s border policy and defend your cats and ducks.”

But not all AI-generated creations went according to plan.

“I asked AI to take a picture of Trump saving the kittens and ducks, and this is the result,” one user posted alongside an image of duck-like animals with cat heads.

“It’s safe to say that we still have some time before AI takes over,” they added.