Newsmax host runs with widely-debunked racist claims about Haitian immigrants and pets

Newsmax host Chris Plante: “Hungry, hungry Haitians had a hankering for some house pets”

Local authorities, including the mayor and the Republican governor of Ohio, have clearly debunked this narrative about local pets and the Haitian immigrant community in Springfield, Ohio. The Associated Press noted that the claims have been used to “amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants”:

Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday amplified false rumors that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating pets, repeating during a televised debate the type of inflammatory and anti-immigrant rhetoric he has promoted throughout his campaigns.

There is no evidence that Haitian immigrants in an Ohio community are doing that, officials say. But during the debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump specifically mentioned Springfield, Ohio, the town at the center of the claims, saying that immigrants were taking over the city.

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Officials have said there have been no credible or detailed reports about the claims, even as Trump and his allies use them to amplify racist stereotypes about Black and brown immigrants.

Video file

Citation From the September 11, 2024, edition of Newsmax's Chris Plante: The Right Squad

CHRIS PLANTE (HOST): A hankerin' from hungry, hungry Haitians in Ohio. That's tonight's red hot video. ABC fake news' David Muir there dismissing President Trump's claims, his point that Haitian illegal aliens are eating local animals in Springfield, Ohio. But Senator JD Vance says that his office is hearing a very different story.

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PLANTE: Now, that is 100% true. Nobody was paying any attention to this until the funny memes showed up of President Trump hugging kittens, saying elect President Trump to save your house cats and your house pets and your dogs and all that good stuff. And Foldi -- Matthew Foldi, you know, hungry, hungry Haitians had a hankering for some house pets. And it looks like — and they're also going into the park and getting ducks and geese and, you know, a guy's got to eat.