David Muir of ABC News questioning former President Donald Trump at September 10, 2024 debate
DONALD TRUMP: What they have done to our country, by allowing these millions and millions of people to come into our country, and look at what's happening to the towns all over the United States. And a lot of towns don't want to talk -- not going to be Aurora or Springfield -- a lot of towns don't want to talk about it because they're so embarrassed by it.
In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats, 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. As far as rallies are concerned, as far as -- the reason they go is they like what I say. They want to bring our country back, they want to make America great again. It's a very simple phrase, 'Make America Great Again.' She's destroying the country, and if she becomes president, this country doesn't have a chance of success -- not only success, we'll end up being Venezuela on steroids.
DAVID MUIR (MODERATOR): I just want to clarify here. You bring up Springfield, Ohio, and ABC News reached out to the city manager there. He told us "there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community." All of this --
TRUMP: I've seen people on television --
MUIR: Let me just say, here --
TRUMP: The 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. But the people on television said their dog was eaten by the people that went there.
MUIR: Again, the Springfield city manager says there's no evidence of that.
Reprinted with permission from Media Matters .
