Vance and Trump double down on baseless "eating pets" claim

Zoom in: CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Vance in an interview in the spin room following the debate why he and Trump would push a narrative that's not true.

• "First of all, city officials have not said it's not true," Vance said. "They said they don't have all the evidence. No evidence."
• He added that there are "both firsthand and secondhand reports saying this stuff is happening."
• "If we have to meme about it to get the media to care, we're going to keep doing it," Vance said.

Meanwhile, Trump said during the debate: "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."

• That prompted a fact-check from the moderators noting that the city manager had told ABC News there was no evidence of any pets being harmed.

Between the lines: It's one of several unsubstantiated claims Trump and his campaign have used to fuel fears about out of control immigration.

• Another that Trump repeated during the debate is that countries are emptying lunatic asylums to send the patients to the border. There is no evidence that's taking place.

Go deeper: Trump peddles baseless claim about immigrants "eating the pets"