Trump doubles down on his 'immigrants eat pets' claim at Hispanic town hall event

Donald Trump is still convinced that immigrants eat pet dogs and cats in Springfield, Ohio, a claim that has been debunked multiple times.

At a town hall event hosted by America’s largest US Spanish-language network, Univision, the Republican presidential candidate faced tough questions from Latino voters about his policies and plans should he become the president for the second time.

Here, he also doubled down on his claim that immigrants consume animals while he highlighted how they have caused a menace in American society.

During the event, a voter, who identified himself as a registered Republican, asked Trump why he keeps reiterating his claims about immigrants. The former president said, “I was just saying what was reported. Migrants are eating other things too, that they are not supposed to.”

Trump  in recent weeks has amplified a false claim that has gone viral that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents’ pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.

There have been no credible reports of Haitians eating pets, and officials in Ohio - including Republicans - have repeatedly said the story is untrue.

With just a few days left for the US presidential elections, Trump has made a number of statements that have the potential to draw away the support of Hispanic voters. Earlier this week, the Republican said that Black and Latino voters who back his opponent Kamala Harris “should get their heads examined.”

According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, 78 per cent of Black voters have said they would support Harris-Walz as opposed to 15 per cent who said they would vote for Trump.

Meanwhile, 56 per cent of Hispanics said they would back Harris while 37 per cent would vote for Trump.

With inputs from agencies