Verifying the Transcript of the Debacle
I went over the debate transcript from ABC News as well as CNN and The Washington Post among other significant sources. For important public events, these dependable news sources often provide accurate, exact debate transcripts. The official transcripts did not, however, include any direct quotes or reference to Springfield, Ohio, in regard to immigrants consuming pets.
Given no significant news source or debate transcript verifying Trump made this particular comment during the debate, the allegation seems to be either inflated or maybe created.
Background of "America as a Failing Nation" Claims:
Former President Trump did stress themes like "America is failing" and addressed issues like poverty and violence in several locations throughout the discussion, but he did not explicitly cite Springfield, Ohio or immigrants dining on pets.
Trump has a history of controversial remarks meant to highlight immigration and crime concerns. Still, in this instance, there is no confirmed documentation of his directly asserting immigrants are consuming pets.
Look for Springfield evidence of pet-eating incidents.
Searching local Springfield, Ohio, news sources like The Springfield News-Sun and other Ohio-based news sources found no record of events involving immigrants dining on animals. This assertion seems to be a bogus rumor; no reliable sources corroborate it.
Fact-checking sites like Snopes and PolitiFact have also previously disproved similar, too bold assertions about immigrants eating animals, which are often based more on false prejudices than on accurate reporting.