Former President Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to visit the city at the center of false claims about migrants within two weeks, as he aims to put immigration at the center of the election campaign.
His supporters cheered when he made a lame joke about visiting Springfield, Ohio, at a rally on Long Island.
“You may never see me again,” he said to the delight of the thousands of people gathered in the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
“But that’s okay, you have to do what you have to do.”
Unsubstantiated claims about Haitian migrants in the city eating cats and other pets have been circulating in the dark corners of the internet for weeks.
Donald Trump announced Wednesday night that he will travel to Springfield, Ohio, over the next two weeks, the center of false claims that migrants are eating pets.
But last week it exploded when Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, spread a baseless rumor that migrants were targeting cats.
Local authorities denied the claims, later revealing that they were based on a report of a missing cat that was found safe and sound.
Vance defended his actions, saying the stories show how communities in places like Springfield are struggling with an influx of immigrants.
An exclusive poll for DailyMail.com suggests the stories may resonate with a large proportion of voters even if they are not true.
A poll of 1,000 likely voters conducted by JL Partners found that more than a third believed Haitians ate cats, geese or other domesticated animals.
At the same time, the poll shows that support for Trump is declining among Hispanic voters, a group that could determine the 2024 election.
Trump said he would also visit Aurora, California, a city that has been the subject of similar debunked claims about Venezuelan gangs.
It’s all part of an effort to continue attacking Harris at the border.
He talked about the impact in New York.
JL Partners surveyed 1,000 likely voters to hear their opinions on false claims that Haitians eat pets. The results have a margin of error of 3 percent
Trump made a number of promises to his audience in New York, including rebuilding the city’s public transportation system and designating Ground Zero as a national monument.
“The hordes of illegal migrants are being housed in luxury hotels at your expense, while our wonderful veterans are living on the freezing or steaming sidewalks, right in front of the main entrance where the migrants enter the hotel,” he said.
“We have veterans lying on the streets — filthy. And they see migrants going up to the 17th floor of their suite. How crazy our country has become.”
Trump will be known as the “border president,” he said, while “Kamala will be known as your invasion president.”
Trump made a number of promises to his audience in New York, promising to rebuild the city’s public transportation system and declaring Ground Zero a national monument.
He listed some of his greatest hits, bragged about the size of his audience (“bigger than Elvis”), criticized “fake news” and claimed the world was at peace under his rule.
He then made a series of unsubstantiated claims about his opponent, saying Harris wanted to pack the Supreme Court with 25 justices and defund the police.
Before heading to the suburbs, Trump stopped at a Bitcoin cafe in New York City to promote his family’s new cryptocurrency venture. He handed out burgers and announced he would likely meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week.
Trump has long been seen as a thorn in the public’s side to maintain support for the beleaguered Ukrainian leader, encouraging Republicans not to send more weapons to fight the Russian invasion.
Before heading to the suburbs, Trump stopped at a Bitcoin cafe in New York City to promote his family’s new cryptocurrency venture
But Zelensky will be in New York next week for a key United Nations meeting, prompting speculation that he will seize the opportunity to make his case to the former president in person.
“Probably,” Trump told reporters in New York when asked if he would meet the Ukrainian president.
In recent months, several world leaders or former leaders have met with Trump during visits to the US
Last month, Zelensky said he wanted to present a peace plan to Biden, Harris and Trump.
The former president made the comments ahead of a campaign rally in Nassau County on Long Island.
The area could be crucial for his party to retain control of the House. The seat is held by Anthony D’Esposito, one of 18 Republicans representing a heavily Democratic area.
Security was tight at Trump’s first rally after a second attempt on his life Sunday
Trump supporters gathered for the rally in Uniondale, New York
In 2020, Joe Biden beat Trump by about four percentage points on Long Island and by about 60,000 points in Nassau County.
However, Trump narrowly defeated him in neighboring Suffolk County.
The former president claims he is eligible to run in New York, but that he needs to garner a lot of votes in those areas to offset the city’s strong Democratic lean.
Earlier that morning, drama arose around the demonstration after false reports were made that explosives had been found in the area.
Local police quickly responded to correct online reports, stating that the claims came from a citizen training a sniffer dog.
However, it came too late for some news organizations, including DailyMail.com, which reported tweets from a reporter claiming to be from the far-right One America News Network.