Trump challenged on pet-eating claims: Haitians are ‘eating other things, too, that they’re not supposed to’

Former President Donald Trump spoke to a group of undecided Latino voters during a town hall in Miami on Wednesday, where he addressed various topics, including reproductive rights, climate change, immigration, the cost of living, and the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Hosted by Univision, the town hall featured Trump defending his controversial claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, allegedly eating their neighbors' pets—a rumor he repeated during the September presidential debate. 

“I was just saying what was reported,” Trump stated, adding that “newspapers” had covered this claim but failing to cite any specific sources.

Ramiro Gonzalez, a self-identified Republican seeking to reconsider his support for Trump, expressed concern over the former president’s delayed response during the January 6 insurrection. In response, Trump said, “Hundreds of thousands of people come to Washington. They didn’t come because of me. They came because of the election. They thought the election was rigged.”

Trump also referenced his own words from January 6, 2021, when he told his supporters to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard. “I said ‘peacefully and patriotically.’ Nothing done wrong at all,” he emphasized, describing that day as one of love from the perspective of his supporters.

When asked to name three positive qualities of Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump hesitated. “That’s the toughest question. The others are easy,” he replied. “I’m not a fan. I think she’s harmed our country horribly, horribly. At the border, with inflation, with so many other things.”