Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended spreading lies that Haitian immigrants are eating peoples’ pets in Springfield, Ohio, saying he was simply repeating “what was reported,” despite local officials repeatedly debunking the baseless claims.
During a town hall hosted by the Spanish-language network Univision with undecided Latino voters, Trump was asked if he really believed the conspiracy theory.
“This was just reported, I was just saying what was reported,” Trump said. “That’s been reported, and [they are] eating other things, too, that they’re not supposed to be.”
“All I do is report,” he added.
Trump also spoke about his plans to travel to the Ohio city, claiming he would provide an update on the issue after seeing the extent of the purported problem with his own eyes.
“I was there, I’m going to be there, and we’re going to take a look, and I’ll give you a full report when I do,” Trump said. “But that’s been in the newspapers and…