Donald Trump Confronted At Univision Town Hall About Unfounded Claim That Haitian Migrants Were Eating Cats And Dogs

Univision has released some clips of Donald Trump‘s appearance Wednesday at a Univision town hall, including one where the former president is confronted on his claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, OH were eating cats and dogs.

Trump made the claim during the ABC News presidential debate last month, but he was fact-checked by co-moderator David Muir, who noted that Springfield’s city manager said that there was no evidence that immigrants were eating people’s pets.

At the Univision town hall, one questioner, Jose Saralegui, identified himself as a registered Republican, but said that he was undecided.

Saralegui asked, “During the campaign there has been some conspiracy theories in use. … The authorities in Springfield, Ohio have more than one time clarified that the Haitians are not eating their cats and their dogs. Nonetheless, you want to revoke the permit they have to legally reside in this country. My question to you, respectfully, is: Do you really believe that these people are eating people’s pets?”

Trump responded, “This was just reported. I was just saying what has been reported, and eating other things too that they are not supposed to be. All I do is report. I was there, and I am going to be there, and we are going to take a look. And I will give you a full report when I do. That’s been in the newspapers and reported pretty broadly.”

Trump then defended his focus on Springfield, telling the audience that the city has seen a flood of migrants that have put on a strain on city resources. “If any of that happened, it would be a disaster for you and you wouldn’t be happy. We want to make our people safe and secure and we want to make them happy.”

“You can’t put, in a very short period of time, 32,000 people into a 50,000 people town and expect things to go well.”

According to the New York Times, the number of recent Haitian immigrants is closer to 20,000. Trump’s claim of migrants eating cats and dogs was rated as false by Politifact, citing city officials and police. And the reports have come from unverified social media claims, not mainstream news outlets, per Politifact.

The Univision town hall event is set to air tonight at 10 p.m. ET. It was held in Doral, FL, and moderated by Enrique Acevedo.

Per Univision, the event also included questions on inflation, the border and the January 6th attack on the Capitol. On immigration, Trump at one point said, “The prison population around the world has decreased a lot, and it is all coming to the United States of America.”