Simpsons memes go viral after Trump claims ‘dogs are eaten in Springfield’

A flood of Simpsons memes has erupted on social media in response to a bizarre and completely false statement made by Donald Trump about pets during his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday.

In a claim that was almost immediately refuted by ABC News anchor David Muir, Trump said, “In Springfield, they eat the dogs. The people who came here. They eat the cats. They eat – they eat the pets of the people who live there. And that's what's happening in our country, and it's a disgrace.”

Trump was referring to a racist rumor spread by his running mate JD Vance, which claimed that Haitian immigrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, had kidnapped and eaten pets, causing “chaos” in the city. Springfield police said they were aware of the “rumors” but had no information to support them.

As Harris looked on in shock, Muir interjected and corrected the former president: “ABC News reached out to the city manager there. He told us there were no credible reports of specific allegations that pets belonging to individuals from the immigrant community had been injured or mistreated.”

Trump protested, saying he had seen stories on television about eating pets. He added, “People on television say, 'My dog ​​was kidnapped and used as food.' So maybe that's what he said and maybe that's a good statement for a city manager to make.”

Since Trump mentioned a town called Springfield, it didn't take long for the internet to be flooded with jokes about the Simpsons' fictional hometown, often aimed at the family dog, “Helper Santa.”

“IN SPRINGFIELD THEY EAT THE DOGS,” wrote one person on X/Twitter along with a picture of the cartoon pooch.

Another X/Twitter user quoted Trump, but this time also included a picture of the Simpsons cat Snowball II.

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The account for the BBC show Do I have news for youchimed in with a picture of Homer Simpson and his dog, writing: “US Presidential Debate: After Trump claimed people in Springfield eat dogs, there are questions about where he gets his news from.”

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The classic “old man yelling at cloud” meme was also present.

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Elsewhere, an edit of the song “We Put The Spring in Springfield” from “Bart After Dark” has deservedly gone viral.

In another example of how The Simpsons seem to predict the future, a clip from the 1997 episode “Springfield Detective: Just Call It Springfield” was shared, showing the Red Tick Beer brewery making its beverage with the help of dogs.

Regarding people's habit of The Simpsons predicting major events such as the start of the war between Ukraine and Russia, showrunner Al Jean said: The Hollywood Reporter The The Simpsons In the long history of “predicting” such events, this is “unfortunately the norm rather than the prediction.”

“As far as predictions go, there are two kinds: the trivial ones, like Don Mattingly, who gets into trouble because of his hair, in Homer at bat. And then there are these predictions,” Jean said. “I hate to say it, but I was born in 1961, so I lived with the specter of the Soviet Union for 30 years of my life.”

“So unfortunately for me this is more the norm than the prediction. We just expected things to go wrong.”