Dogs, fraud and asylums: Trump peddles conspiracies amid debate delirium
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Former President Trump during the second presidential debate at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, on Sept. 10. Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images
One major takeaway stands out from Tuesday's debate between former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris: the GOP nominee isn't walking away from conspiracy theories.
Why it matters: Despite repeated calls from Republican allies to stick to policy, Trump has kept sharing unfounded narratives known to amplify baseless conspiracies.
- To win what is expected to be a tight election, the GOP nominee needs to appeal to a sliver of swing voters, but diving into a sea of conspiracies appears to be complicating that effort.
Zoom in: During the debate, Trump echoed a rumor that Haitian immigrants were eating family pets in an Ohio city, a baseless claim that's been debunked by local officials.
- "They're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats," Trump said, referencing the online conspiracy amplified by Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), Trump's vice presidential nominee, other Republican lawmakers and X CEO Elon Musk.
- ABC News' David Muir, one of the debate moderators, noted that the city manager of Springfield, Ohio, said there were no credible reports of any pets being killed.
- Trump also referenced exaggerated claims about gang activity in Aurora, Colorado, contending migrants are "taking over the town, taking over buildings ... they're destroying our country."
- Trump and other Republicans have repeatedly shared misleading information that gangs are overrunning apartment complexes in the city, which local police and residents have denied, Axios' Esteban L. Hernandez reports.
The other side: Conservatives have argued ABC News' debate moderators disproportionately fact-checked the former president, with Trump contending on Truth Social that the debate was "THREE ON ONE!"
- Trump repeated this contention on "Fox & Friends" Wednesday morning, saying, "It was three-to-one. It was a rigged deal."
Friction point: The former president also used the debate to reaffirm his belief that he won the 2020 election, despite no evidence of widespread fraud.
- He also reiterated false claims that then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rejected an offer to send National Guard troops to the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot.
In response to an inquiry on why he encouraged Republicans to kill the bipartisan border security bill — and a dig from Harris that people leave his campaign rallies early — Trump claimed the vice president was busing attendees to her rallies and "paying them to be there."
- On border security, Trump peddled an oft-repeated claim that "millions are pouring into our country from ... insane asylums" — but there is no evidence to back up that comment.
Zoom out: Some Republicans have blamed the crew of online influencers cozy with the Trump campaign for blurring his focus before the debate, Axios' Zachary Basu reports.
- Several of the conspiracies Trump has cited have been amplified on social media by far-right influencers, such as Laura Loomer, who flew with the former president to the debate.
- Trump wanted to hire Loomer, a self-proclaimed "proud Islamophobe," for a campaign role, the New York Times reported last year, but sources told Axios his co-campaign manager objected to the idea.
Asked for comment, the Trump campaign contested there is a connection between the former president's relationships with far-right influencers and some of his claims.
- The campaign did not respond to follow-up questions.
The bottom line: Democrats see a treasure trove of attack ads that could manifest from Trump's debate performance.
Go deeper: MAGA's media meltdown
