USA: Migrants Eat Pets? Trump's statement has fatal consequences

At some point in this TV duel with Democrat Kamala Harris and Donald Trump does not shy away from racist lies. “They eat the dogs in Springfield,” says the Republican candidate into the microphone. In the town in the state of Ohio, migrants eat the pets ... cats, the dogs of the people who live there. It is a well-known conspiracy ideology that Trump is serving up, and which is currently experiencing a resurgence in the US election campaign.

Fueled not only by Trump, but also by his designated running mate J.D. Vance and other high-ranking Republicans. And Trump's hardcore fans and supporters are happy to take up the anti-immigration agitation. They stage Trump in pictures and montages with dogs, ducks, cats and other pets, glorifying him as a “savior”.

The conspiracy is having an effect. The web is full of it. shortly after the TV duel, which experts believe Trump clearly lost to Kamala Harris, the slogan about the allegedly eaten dogs became a trend, for example on the platform “X”, which is owned by Trump supporter Elon Musk.

The fact that the TV presenter refutes Trump's lies with facts does little to change this. Officials from the city of Springfield have no knowledge of suspected cats or dogs being eaten by migrants. The police also deny the statements.

Also, the Myths about alleged “power elites” of a “deep state” work in a similar way.

But that's not what conspiracy ideologues like Trump are about. He starts a rumor, it spreads through his followers on social networks in no time at all, and it inflames the mood. Against migrants, against refugees, against the Democratic Party. At the same time, many people online are also making fun of Trump's comments. But this is also factored into the conspirators' strategy. Because even those who make fun of it spread the rumor.

The interview: Van de Laar: “The tone is now getting even harsher and rougher” It works in a similar way with myths and lies spread by radical Trump supporters, such as that the “power elites” in Washington are hiding and torturing children in underground prisons. An ideology that fantasizes about a “deep state” that controls governments almost invisibly also pushes in this direction. Time and again, German right-wing extremists and so-called “Reich citizens” also spread conspiracy narratives.

As is typical of modern conspiracy ideologues, Trump draws on stories that are centuries old. As early as the 19th century, immigrants from China, for example, were stigmatized in the USA by being accused of eating pets. Italian immigrants were insulted as “garlic eaters”.

Democratic candidate Kamala Harris responded to Trump's myths with a laugh. She then said that more than 200 former Republicans would now support her as a Democrat. All politicians who are in Trump's party but do not want to see him as US president. These include former vice presidents such as Dick Cheney. Perhaps, says Harris, statements like these about pets are one of the reasons why the Republicans are all defecting from Trump to her.

Francis Tawiah (Duisburg, Germany)