Simpsons memes go viral after Trump claims that ‘dogs are being eaten in Springfield’

A flurry of Simpsons memes have erupted on social media in response to a bizarre and wildly false statement about pets made by Donald Trump during his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday.

In a claim that was almost immediately debunked by ABC News moderator David Muir, Trump said: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”

Trump was referring to a racist rumour spread by his running mate JD Vance that Haitian immigrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio had been abducting pets and eating them,“causing chaos” in the town. Springfield Police Division said it was aware of the “rumours” but has no information to support them.

As a stunned Harris looked on in disbelief, Muir interjected and corrected the former president, adding: “ABC News did reach out to the city manager there. He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

Trump protested and said that he had seen stories on TV about pets being eaten adding: “People on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food,’ so maybe he said that and maybe that’s a good thing to say for a city manager.”

Given that Trump referenced a city named Springfield, it wasn’t long before a frenzy of jokes about the fictional hometown of the Simpsons started to appear online with many nods towards the family’s dog, Santa’s Little Helper.

“IN SPRINGFIELD THEY’RE EATING THE DOGS,” wrote one person on X/Twitter along with a picture of the cartoon pooch.

Another X/Twitter user quoted