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Springfield, Ohio, cat-eating hoax

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In September 2024, American right-wing politicians and media figures amplified baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were illegally taking other people's pet cats and eating them. The claims began when a member of a local Facebook group shared a rumor about a neighbor's daughter's friend's cat having been butchered. It spread quickly among far-right and neo-Nazi groups and was amplified by prominent figures in the American right, most notably Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, his running mate JD Vance, associate Laura Loomer, and X owner Elon Musk.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

The Republican Party of Arizona commissioned billboards, in the style of Chick-Fil-A advertising, promoting the cat-eating hoax.[1]

Springfield officials have stated there have been no credible reports or evidence to support the claims.[10][11][12][13][14] Fact-checking website Snopes called the claims unfounded, while others characterized the claims as a hoax.[15][16][17][18][19] On September 12 and 13, bomb threats related to the false claims forced Springfield officials to close several public buildings, including elementary schools.[20]

Background

Poor conditions in the Caribbean nation of Haiti led the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to grant temporary protected status to Haitians, allowing an estimated 309,000 migrants from the island nation to live and work in the United States without the risk of deportation.[21] Attracted by a surplus of manufacturing jobs, a low cost of living, and a lack of local labor, some 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants came to Springfield legally,[22] which had a population of 58,662 at the time of the 2020 census.[23] While the migrants have had a positive economic impact on the city, the rapid population expansion has strained public resources.[24]

In August 2023, a Haitian immigrant drove his minivan into a school bus, killing 11-year-old Aiden Clark.[25] The driver was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and vehicular homicide and sentenced to nine to thirteen and a half years in prison.[26] The incident inflamed racial tensions in the area and increased hostility towards the Haitian community.[24][27][2] In August 2024, the Springfield Jazz & Blues Fest was interrupted by neo-Nazis with rifles who performed Nazi salutes and held swastika flags. Local police called it "a little peaceful protest".[28][29] Later that month, a member of the neo-Nazi group Blood Tribe disrupted a Springfield city meeting, introducing himself with an anti-black slur and threatening that "crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in".[30][31] The Counter Extremism Project reports that on September 1, the white nationalist Patriot Front protested against the Haitian immigrants in Springfield.[32]

Origin and spread

 
 
 
 
Prominent proponents include Donald Trump (top left), JD Vance (top right), Laura Loomer (bottom left), and Elon Musk (bottom right)

In late August 2024, a Springfield resident commented at a city commission meeting, without providing evidence, that migrants were "in the park grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their head off ... and eating them".[33] The cat rumor initially stemmed from a post made in early September to a private Facebook group called "Springfield Ohio Crime and Information". A Facebook user posted that a neighbor had told her that the neighbor's daughter's friend had "lost her cat" and then saw it "hanging from a branch, like you'd do a deer for butchering" at a neighbor's house, insisting "they were carving it up to eat." The now-deleted post further asserted that the same was being done to dogs, ducks, and geese. Another neighbor of the user later told an interviewer, "I'm not sure I'm the most credible source because I don't actually know the person who lost the cat," NewsGuard reported.[34] The neighbor separately told Reuters "she had heard it from a friend, who heard it from another friend, who heard it from an acquaintance," and it was unknown whether that person had actually witnessed anything.[35]

The unsupported claims became viral among American far-right and neo-Nazi groups and popular right-wing X accounts, which presented the claims as fact, and blamed Haitian Americans and the Biden–Harris administration.[2][22][36]

Springfield's police department issued a statement that "there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community".[10][11][12][13][14] Springfield mayor Rob Rue said that there was no evidence to support claims that geese or ducks from parks were being killed and eaten.[22] City Manager Bryan Heck called the rumor "disinformation".[37] Fact-checker Snopes rated the rumors as "unfounded".[22] Vox and Forbes among others have described the rumor as false and as a conspiracy theory.[36][38]

Three other recent events unconnected to the original Facebook post contributed to the spread of disinformation. In July, a user posted a photo to Reddit of a man carrying a dead goose by the neck, prompting a discussion about cooking geese and Ohio's hunting season. The man was not identified as Haitian, the goose's cause of death is unknown, and it took place in Columbus, Ohio, not Springfield.[39][40] In August, a 27-year-old U.S.-born woman was arrested in Canton, Ohio, on charges that she killed and ate a cat.[41][42] Police body camera footage showing the arrest of the Canton woman was posted to social media spuriously labeled as an arrest in Springfield.[41][43] Neither the Columbus man nor the Canton woman had any connection to Haiti or Springfield.[40][41][43][22] In a third case, local law enforcement received a call on August 26 that Haitians stole geese in a Springfield park, but police found no evidence and no geese. Clark County Commission President Melanie Flax Wilt characterized the episode as a "literal wild goose chase", and Clark County officials said that a review of 11 months of records found no other calls regarding stolen animals.[44] Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost cited the stolen-goose call as evidence that the media was ignoring evidence about the story.[45]

Amplification by Republican politicians

External videos
  Cat-eating remarks during September 10, 2024 debate

On September 9, JD Vance, a U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 2024 Republican nominee for vice president, spread the claim in a post on X, writing: "Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio. Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country."[46] By September 10, Vance's post had received over 100,000 likes.[5] Vance responded to criticism of his post the following day, writing: "In the last several weeks, my office has received many inquiries from actual residents of Springfield who've said their neighbors' pets or local wildlife were abducted by Haitian migrants. It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false." He also encouraged supporters to continue posting "cat memes".[6]

On September 9, Laura Loomer accused "20,000 cannibalistic Haitians" of eating pets in Springfield.[47]

Ted Cruz, a U.S. Senator from Texas, posted a widely criticized meme relating to the incident on X, showing two cats with the caption "Please vote for Trump, so Haitian immigrants don't eat us". Cruz's post had received over 113,000 likes by September 10.[48] The Arizona Republican Party put out twelve roadside billboards in the Phoenix metro area stating "Eat less kittens, Vote Republican!", spoofing Chick-Fil-A's "Eat Mor Chikin" advertising campaign.[1]

During the Harris–Trump presidential debate on September 10, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump claimed, without presenting evidence, that: "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."[49] Moderator David Muir fact-checked Trump, stating that ABC News reached out to the city, whose spokesperson said there were no credible reports or specific claims of such activity.[50][51]

On September 12, 2024, Laura Loomer accused Haitian immigrants of eating humans, while sharing a video captioned "Cannibalism in Haiti". White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, herself the daughter of Haitian immigrants, responded to the comments, stating that "no leader should ever associate with someone who spreads this kind of ugliness, this kind of racist poison."[52]

Reactions

The debunked claims have been widely characterized as a racist attempt to stoke fears or resentment of immigrants. Notably, a White House spokesperson said that Republicans were making false claims "based on an element of racism",[2] and an editor from the nearby Columbus Dispatch said these were "undeniably racist rumors."[53][54][36][55] A local NAACP leader said she received a flurry of racist emails soon after JD Vance got involved.[2] The Columbus photographer who posted the photo to Reddit of the man carrying the dead goose told The Columbus Dispatch he regretted taking the picture, saying: "I wish I never took it, for sure. And I hate that the picture that I took is being weaponized to use against immigrants, or really, any other group. They always have to have somebody to use as a weapon. Some group to be the bad guy."[40]

Nathan Clark, the father of Aiden Clark, accused several politicians, including Vance and Trump, of exploiting his son's accidental death for political gain by furthering a false narrative about supposedly savage Haitians. Vance had falsely claimed that Aiden Clark's death was a murder rather than an accident, while the Trump campaign had used images of Aiden Clark and the driver in their campaign materials.[56][57][58] After bomb threats explicitly mentioning the hoax prompted evacuations through Springfield, Hawaii senator Brian Schatz accused Trump of engaging in "racist stochastic terrorism".[19]

The Arizona Republic described the remarks as the "most laughable line out of Tuesday's debate",[59] and humorists mocked the claims, at times citing the 1986 NBC sitcom ALF about a space alien who attempts to eat cats.[60][61][62]

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned Trump and Vance, saying that when they "intentionally distribute incredibly malicious and disgusting claims like about eating pets, etc", they put people at risk of violence.[63] Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who is Haitian American, criticized Trump's comments, noting that Haitian immigrants contribute to the U.S. and are "committed to education, hard work, and building a better life, not just for themselves but for all of us".[64] The National Haitian-American Elected Officials Network said that Trump's and Vance's "offensive statements" promoted "harmful stereotypes" and called on them to "engage in meaningful dialogue to address the harm caused".[65] People in Haiti also condemned the baseless claims.[64]

On September 12, a bomb threat led to the closing of Springfield's City Hall, several Clark County buildings, and a local elementary school. The mayor said that the person making the threat "used hateful language towards immigrants and Haitians in our community".[66][67] On September 13, more bomb threats caused several schools and municipal buildings to be evacuated and closed.[68]

Haitian Americans and Haitian immigrants expressed worries that the hoax would lead to violence against them.[69]

On September 13, during a "Celebration of Black Excellence" brunch event at the White House, President Joe Biden said that Haitian Americans were "under attack in our country right now", describing and denouncing the false rumors and how Trump was spreading them, although not addressing the presidential candidate by name. One of the prior speakers at the event was White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who is Haitian American.[70] On the same day, Trump said that his plans for mass deportations of immigrants would "start with Springfield" if he was elected.[71]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Liles, Jordan. "Arizona GOP Launches 'Eat Less Kittens' Billboards Referencing Unfounded Conspiracy Theory". Snopes. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e Jingnan, Huo; Garsd, Jasmine (September 10, 2024). "JD Vance spreads debunked claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets". All Things Considered.
  3. ^ "Before Trump, neo-Nazis pushed false claims about Haitians as part of hate campaign". NBC News. September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  4. ^ "How a fringe online claim about immigrants eating pets made its way to the debate stage". NBC News. September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Mangan, Dan (September 10, 2024). "JD Vance false conspiracy about Haitian immigrants is 'dangerous,' Biden NSC spokesman says". CNBC. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Maher, Kit (September 10, 2024). "Vance says false claim he spread against Haitian migrants may not be true but urges followers to keep posting 'cat memes'". CNN. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  7. ^ "Trump falsely claims migrants in Ohio are eating pets during debate". FOX TV Digital Team. September 10, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  8. ^ "Trump falsely accuses immigrants in Ohio of abducting and eating pets". AP News. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  9. ^ Tait, Robert (September 12, 2024). "Republicans point finger at Laura Loomer for Trump's pet-eating rant" – via The Guardian.
  10. ^ a b Bernal, Rafael (September 9, 2024). "Vance pushes false accusations of Haitians eating pets". The Hill. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Ingram, David (September 10, 2024). "Ohio police have 'no credible reports' of Haitian immigrants harming pets, contradicting JD Vance's claim". NBC News. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Chatelain, Ryan (September 10, 2024). "Police in Ohio push back on claim, promoted by Trump campaign, that Haitian migrants are eating pets". Spectrum News. Springfield.
  13. ^ a b Orozco, Jessica (September 9, 2024). "Springfield police say no reports of pets stolen, eaten". Springfield News-Sun.
  14. ^ a b Sanderson, Emily (September 10, 2024). "Springfield officials say there's no credible reports of pet abuse in immigrant community". WLWT5.
  15. ^ Hartmann, Margaret (September 10, 2024). "'They're Eating the Dogs!' Trump Touts Pet-Eating Hoax at Debate". Intelligencer.
  16. ^ "'They're eating the dogs!' Trump fact-check as he vents over widely debunked hoax - Raw Story". www.rawstory.com.
  17. ^ Novak, Matt (September 9, 2024). "Trump Supporters Flood Social Media With Viral Hoax About Migrants Eating Cats and Ducks". Gizmodo.
  18. ^ Akers, Mary Ann (September 13, 2024). "Biden Slams Trump and Vance for Pet-Eating Migrant Hoax". The Daily Beast.
  19. ^ a b "Senator suggests Trump engaging in 'racist stochastic terrorism' amid pet-eating hoax - Raw Story". web.archive.org. September 14, 2024.
  20. ^ Popli, Nik (September 13, 2024). "Bomb Threats Disrupt Springfield, Ohio for Second Day". TIME.
  21. ^ Bernal, Rafael (September 9, 2024). "Vance pushes false accusations of Haitians eating pets". The Hill. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  22. ^ a b c d e Kasprak, Alex. "No Evidence Haitian Immigrants Are Eating Ducks, Geese or Pets in Springfield, Ohio". Snopes. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  23. ^ Feuerborn, Mark (September 10, 2024). "What we know about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio". NBC 4i. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  24. ^ a b Jordan, Miriam (September 3, 2024). "How an Ohio Town Landed in the Middle of the Immigration Debate". New York Times.
  25. ^ Da Silva, Chantal (August 23, 2023). "Child killed in Ohio bus crash on first day of school; driver of other vehicle charged with homicide". NBC News. Retrieved September 11, 2024. One of the 23 injured children suffered life-threatening injuries Tuesday morning. Their conditions were not immediately clear early Wednesday.
  26. ^ Underwood, Alese (May 21, 2024). "Man sentenced to at least 9 years in prison for Clark County bus crash". Spectrum News. Dayton, Ohio. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Olmstead, Molly (September 10, 2024). "Yes, They're Really Claiming Immigrants Eat Cats and Geese Now. You Can Guess Why". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  28. ^ "Neo-Nazis holding rifles and swastika flags march during Ohio musical festival". Jewish News Syndicate. August 13, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024. 'There was an attempt to disrupt our community by an outside hate group,' said Rob Rue, the mayor of Springfield.
  29. ^ Schwartzberg, Eric; Spurlock, Brooke (August 13, 2024). "Mayor: Group's use of swastika flags, guns 'not peaceful' but city was watching". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Springfield Police representative described it as 'just a little peaceful protest;' city government called Nazi-attired group's actions 'deeply concerning'
  30. ^ Crosse, Jacobe. "Trump and Republicans spearhead fascistic campaign targeting Haitian immigrants". World Socalist Web Site. Retrieved September 11, 2024. On August 27, one of the Nazi members of Blood Tribe, Drake Berentz, a former Marine, returned to the Springfield to deliver an anti-immigrant tirade in which he warned that 'Crime and savagery will only increase with every Haitian you bring in.'
  31. ^ Huggins, Katherine (September 11, 2024). "How a neo-Nazi helped kickstart the right-wing anti-Haitian migrant panic". Daily Dot. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Rhetoric 'ripped from the Nazi playbook.'
  32. ^ "Patriot Front / Vanguard America". Counter Extremism Project. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  33. ^ Jones, Kelly (September 9, 2024). "There is no evidence Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are stealing, eating pets". WNEP-TV. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
  34. ^ Brewster, Jack; Howard, Sam (September 12, 2024). "Triple Hearsay: Original Sources of the Claim that Haitians Eat Pets in Ohio Admit No First-Hand Knowledge". NewsGuard. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  35. ^ Chavez, Julio-Cesar (September 12, 2024). "Bomb threat in city at heart of Trump immigrant rumors sparks evacuation". Reuters. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  36. ^ a b c Millhiser, Ian (September 9, 2024). "JD Vance's racist, cat-eating conspiracy theory, explained as best we can". Vox. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  37. ^ "Springfield city manager slams immigration 'rumors' and 'disinformation'". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  38. ^ Murray, Conor (September 10, 2024). "Biden Official Condemns False Haitian Immigrants Conspiracy Theory As 'Racism' And 'Disinformation'". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  39. ^ Downing, Andy (September 10, 2024). "What it's like to have your photo hijacked by a right-wing disinformation campaign". Matter News. Retrieved September 11, 2024. In July, a Columbus resident took a picture of a man carrying a goose carcass on the city's North Side. In recent days, the image has been used to falsely advance a racist right-wing campaign aimed at Haitian immigrants living in Springfield, Ohio.
  40. ^ a b c Hart, Nathan (September 10, 2024). "Columbus man regrets taking goose photo he says is being weaponized against immigrants". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  41. ^ a b c Molnar, Nancy (September 10, 2024). "Fact check: Ohio woman accused of eating cat is from Canton, not from Springfield". The Canton Repository. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  42. ^ FP Explainers (September 11, 2024). "'Haitian immigrants eating pets': Who is Ohio woman, who killed cat and led to conspiracy theories?". First Post. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Donald Trump on Tuesday attacked Kamala Harris over immigration by claiming that Haitians are eating pets in an Ohio town. The remarks came after a month after 27-year-old Allexis Telia Ferrell from the state allegedly killed and ate a cat in Canton. Since then, some right-wing social media accounts have baselessly claimed that Ferrell has links to Haiti
  43. ^ a b "Video shows an Ohio woman accused of killing and eating a cat; she's not an immigrant". Dayton, Ohio: WHIO-TV. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  44. ^ Orozco, Jessica (September 11, 2024). "County: No evidence of August claim that Haitians took geese at Springfield park". Springfield News-Sun. Flax Wilt said Wednesday morning that false claims lead to a waste of resources, and the Aug. 26 call led an officer to be dispatched on a "literal wild goose chase."
  45. ^ Walker, Jackson (September 11, 2024). "Ohio AG knocks 'media' over Springfield animal hunting claims". Dayton 247.
  46. ^ Bragg, Meghan. "VERIFY: Campaign ad says Kamala Harris is the border czar", WCNC-TV, September 11, 2024.
  47. ^ Fins, Antonio. "Laura Loomer: Far-right influencer posted about pet-eating migrants. She's in Trump's orbit". The Palm Beach Post.
  48. ^ Rashid, Hafiz (September 9, 2024). "Ted Cruz Gets Brutal Reminder After Sharing Racist Migrants Conspiracy". The New Republic. Retrieved September 10, 2024.
  49. ^ Picciotto, Rebecca (September 10, 2024). "Presidential debate live updates: Trump goes off script with false conspiracy, claims 'They're eating the dogs'". CNBC. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  50. ^ Ferris, Layla (September 11, 2024). "Trump, JD Vance repeat baseless claim Haitian immigrants are eating pets as Ohio officials say there is no evidence - CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  51. ^ "'Pets comidos': Cidade de boato de Trump sobre imigração é alvo de ameaça de bomba". G1 (in Brazilian Portuguese). September 12, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  52. ^ Traylor, Jake; Perlmutter-Gumbiner, Elyse; Richards, Zoë (September 12, 2024). "'Racist poison': White House responds to Laura Loomer's baseless claim accusing Haitian immigrants of eating 'humans'". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  53. ^ Robinson, Amelia. "No 'roasted Fluffy.' Haitians aren't eating cats in Springfield. Vance is a liar". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  54. ^ Leingang, Rachel (September 9, 2024). "Republicans spread baseless slurs about 'cat-eating migrants' in Ohio city". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  55. ^ Olmstead, Molly (September 10, 2024). "Yes, They're Really Claiming Immigrants Eat Cats and Geese Now. You Can Guess Why". Slate. ISSN 1091-2339. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  56. ^ Jordan, Miriam (September 11, 2024). "Grieving Ohio Father Tells Trump and Vance to Stop Talking About His Son". The New York Times. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Nathan Clark says the candidates are exploiting his son's death in a crash caused by an immigrant outside the small city of Springfield. 'This needs to stop now.'
  57. ^ Orozco, Jessica (September 10, 2024). "Aiden Clark's dad begs Springfield, politicians: Stop using son to hate Haitians". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Boy was killed in 2023 school bus crash caused by Haitian immigrant; father says 'we can't even protect his memory when he's gone'
  58. ^ Ingram, David (September 10, 2024). "Father of 11-year-old killed in Ohio crash says Trump and Vance are using his son 'as a political tool' and asks for apologies". NBC News. Retrieved September 11, 2024. Vance, the GOP vice presidential nominee, alluded to Aiden Clark, an 11-year-old boy who died when his school bus collided with a minivan driven by a Haitian immigrant.
  59. ^ Díaz, Elvia. "'They're eating the dogs' became Trump's most laughable line from the debate". The Arizona Republic.
  60. ^ Ulloa, Jazmine (September 11, 2024). "Online Legions for Trump and Harris Clash, Wielding Images of Cats and Aliens". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024.
  61. ^ "Trump's Biggest Problem at the Debate . . . Was Trump". September 11, 2024. Trump made Haitian migrants sound like Alf
  62. ^ Wiseman, Jenny Porter Tilley and Katie. "Debate watchers using memes of 'ALF' trying to eat a cat. What's going on?". The Courier-Journal.
  63. ^ Burga, Solcyré (September 12, 2024). "Springfield City Hall Evacuates Amid Pet-Eating Conspiracy". TIME. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  64. ^ a b Juhakenson, Blaise; Onz, Chéry; Kervenson, Martial; Edxon, Francisque (September 12, 2024). "Trump's baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Midwest spark outrage in Haiti". The Haitian Times. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  65. ^ Abdullah, Halimah (September 12, 2024). "Haitian American Group Demands Retraction of Trump's Statements". Capital B News. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  66. ^ Paybarah, Azi; Wang, Amy B. (September 12, 2024). "Springfield bomb threat used 'hateful' language toward migrants, Haitians, mayor says". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  67. ^ Orozco, Jessica; Kelley, Jeremy P. (September 12, 2024). "Springfield City Hall, school, county hit by threats tied to Haitian issue". Springfield News-Sun. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  68. ^ Lozano, Alicia Victoria; David K, Li (September 13, 2024). "Bomb threats force second consecutive day of school closures in Springfield, Ohio". NBC News. Archived from the original on September 13, 2024. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
  69. ^ Hesson, Ted; Sullivan, Andy; Borter, Gabriella (September 11, 2024). "Haitian Americans fear for their safety after Trump repeats false claims about immigrants and pets". Reuters. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
  70. ^ Baker, Peter (September 13, 2024). "Biden Slams Trump Over False Story of Pets and Immigrants: 'This Has to Stop'". New York City: The New York Times. Retrieved September 13, 2024. At a brunch on the South Lawn of the White House billed as a "celebration of Black excellence," Mr. Biden noted that Haitian immigrants were "under attack in our country right now," a reference everyone in the audience understood even though he did not name Mr. Trump. "It's simply wrong," Mr. Biden said, his voice rising in indignation. "There's no place in America. This has to stop, what he's doing. It has to stop."
  71. ^ "Trump vows mass deportations from Ohio town rocked by 'pet-eating' lies". www.bbc.com.
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