‘They’re eating the dogs’: Trump debate line mocked by ‘Simpsons’ star

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Hank Azaria, who voices Police Chief Clancy Wiggum on The Simpsons, has responded to Donald Trump’s baseless comments that immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing dogs and cats and eating them.

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“In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs — the people that came in,” Trump said during Tuesday night’s presidential debate when he faced off against his Democratic rival Kamala Harris for the first time. “They’re eating the cats. 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.”

Trump was referencing a rumour circulated by his running mate JD Vance that Haitian immigrants in the Ohio city are abducting pets and eating them.

After Trump’s mention of Springfield, fans of The Simpsons immediately flooded social media with a flurry of jokes.

“Donald Trump thinks he’s living in The Simpsons,” one fan remarked, sharing a clip from an episode where dogs were used to make Red Tick Beer.

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Azaria responded to the viral moment in a clip posted to his official X and Instagram accounts where he voiced his popular Simpsons character.

“Springfield Police, Chief Clancy Wiggum speaking, how can I help you?” Azaria says answering the phone. “People are eating dogs?” he continues. “What, d’you mean like hot dogs? Oh, cats! Mr. Katz is eating hot dogs? No? People are eating dogs, and cats? People are eating dogs and cats in Springfield?… Are they good?”

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Trump’s “eating the dogs” and “eating the cats” comments have also been turned into a dance track on TikTok and X, with 11 million views and counting.

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In 2022, Al Jean, producer on the long-running animated series, %7B%22provider_name%22:%22Twitter%22,%22provider_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%22,%22object_url%22:%22https:%5C/%5C/twitter.com%5C/AlJean%5C/status%5C/1592712895200043008%22,%22html%22:%22

.@TheSimpsons%20As%20predicted%20in%202015%20pic.twitter.com%5C/BQEbCXAyy2%E2%80%94%20Al%20Jean%20(@AlJean)%20November%2016,%202022%5Cn how the show predicted Trump’s 2024 bid for re-election by sharing an image of Homer Simpson and a campaign sign that read “Trump 2024.”

“As predicted in 2015,” the producer tweeted.

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After Trump made his statement Tuesday night, ABC News’ David Muir, who co-moderated the debate alongside Linsey Davis, tried to correct the former president, saying they had reached out to a city manager in Springfield and were told there were no credible reports of pets being harmed. 

Still, Trump was defiant, saying: “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.”

But the office of the Springfield city manager, Bryan Heck, issued a statement to the Associated Press dismissing the rumours.

“In response to recent rumours alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Heck’s office said in an emailed statement.

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According to Newsweek, the allegation stems from a post on a private Facebook group in which a member said they knew someone who had witnessed their daughter’s friend’s cat “hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering,” near a house where Haitians live in Springfield. They added that “they were carving it up to eat.”

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As the warning went viral, Vance lent credibility to the claims with his own social media post. “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country. Where is our border czar?” Vance wrote.

Ted Cruz weighed in by sharing a photo of kittens to X, urging his followers to vote for Trump, “So Haitian immigrants don’t eat us.”

Meanwhile, Trump posted an image on his Truth Social account where he was seen surrounded by cats and geese. Another doctored photo showed armed cats wearing MAGA hats, while a third featured a kitty holding a sign that read, “Kamala Hates Me.”

And following the debate, Vance doubled down on the allegations, telling reporters: “We just actually heard a 911 call from a citizen in Springfield earlier today that some of the immigrants in Springfield were capturing geese at the local pond, slaughtering them and killing them.”

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When asked specifically about Trump’s mention of dogs, the Ohio senator said he didn’t “know what are the full spate of animals that are being consumed in Springfield.”

“But I know the geese are certainly among them. And we’ve heard reports from a number of constituents on the ground that they have had pets abducted by some of the immigrants there. We’re of course looking into this stuff,” Vance replied.

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