Trump-Harris debate updates: Candidates go on attack in zinger-filled showdown

Fact Check: False

According to the city of Springfield, Ohio, these claims are false. A city spokesperson tells ABC News there have been “no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals in the immigrant community.”

Rumors that migrants from Haiti are stealing and eating animals there have run rampant after a series of claims spread widely online, amplified by social media posts from leading political figures in recent days.

“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents' homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic,” the spokesperson added.
The House Judiciary GOP X account used AI tools to show Trump holding cats and ducks, portraying him as a savior of animals.

2:07

Trump pushes false claims of pets being eaten in Springfield, Ohio by migrants

On the debate stage, Trump pushed false claims of pets being stolen and eaten by Haitian migrants, despite police saying it did not happen.

ABCNews.com

One of the main images circulating online, showing a man holding a dead goose, was taken not in Springfield but in Columbus, Ohio, two months ago. The resident who captured the image told ABC News he was surprised to see his image used to “ push false narratives.”

According to the Springfield News-Sun, the Springfield Police Department has not received any reports of pets being stolen and eaten. The city even created a webpage debunking some claims.

Migrants have been drawn to the region because of low cost of living and work opportunities, the city says on its site. The city estimates there are around 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants living in the county, and that the rapid rise in population has strained housing, health care, and school resources. But the city also says that the migrants are in the country legally and that many are recipients of Temporary Protected Status from the federal government.

Fact Check: True

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of senators unveiled a $20 billion plan to substantially bolster security along the U.S.-Mexico border. It would have added hundreds of border patrol and ICE agents and asylum officers; funded construction of new border wall; expanded detention facilities; ended “catch and release;” effectively closed the border entirely when illegal crossings surge; and raised the bar for asylum claims. (Source: text of bill

The influential Border Patrol union, which has previously endorsed Trump, publicly backed the bill. But hours after the draft legislation was unveiled on Feb. 5, Trump urged his party to oppose the bill, even as many Republicans have spent years lobbying for some of the security measures included in the deal.

“I’ll fight it all the way,” Trump told supporters at a Las Vegas rally Feb. 8. “A lot of the senators are trying to say, respectfully, they’re blaming it on me. I say, that’s okay. Please blame it on me.”
Trump openly invoked election-year politics as a motivation for his position: “This Bill is a great gift to the Democrats, and a Death Wish for The Republican Party. It takes the HORRIBLE JOB the Democrats have done on Immigration and the Border, absolves them, and puts it all squarely on the shoulders of Republicans,” Trump wrote on social media. The bill failed a key Senate procedural vote in May, with all but one Republican voting against it, including all those involved in crafting the deal.

Trump refused to say if he would veto a national abortion bill if brought to his desk.

The former president claimed he wouldn't have to.

10:07

Trump won't commit to vetoing national abortion ban bill

"There's no reason to sign a ban because we have gotten what everyone wanted," he said.

ABCNews.com

"There's no reason to sign a ban because we have gotten what everyone wanted," he said.

"I'm going to do something really unusual, and I'm going to invite you to attend one of Donald Trump's rallies, because it's a really interesting thing to watch," Harris said to viewers.

"You will see during the course of his rallies he talks about fictional characters like Hannibal Lecter. He will talk about when windmills can cause cancer. And what you will also notice that people start leaving his rallies early out of exhaustion," she said.

The comment appeared to get under Trump's skin, as he took time to respond despite being asked by the moderator about the immigration bill he discouraged Republicans from supporting.

"We have the biggest rallies, the most incredible rallies in the history of politics," Trump responded.