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Hank Azaria, who voices Police Chief Clancy Wiggum in The Simpsons, has responded in character to Donald Trump’s wildly false claim that people are eating pets in a town called Springfield.
The former President made the bizarre statement during his first presidential debate with Kamala Harris on Tuesday.
In an allegation that was almost immediately debunked by ABC News moderator David Muir, Trump said: “In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs. The people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating – they’re eating the pets of the people that live there. And this is what’s happening in our country, and it’s a shame.”
Trump was referring to a racist rumor spread by his running mate JD Vance that Haitian immigrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio had been abducting pets and eating them, “causing chaos” in the town. Springfield Police Division said it was aware of the “rumors” but has no information to support them.
Now, Azaria has also responded in a clip posted to X/Twitter. In the video, Azaria answers a phone: “Springfield Police, Chief Clancy Wiggum speaking, how can I help you?”
“People are eating dogs?” he continues in a puzzled tone. “What, d’you mean like hot dogs? Oh, cats! Mr Katz is eating hot dogs? No? People are eating dogs, and cats? People are eating dogs and cats in Springfield?… Are they good?”
When Trump first made the claim during the debate, he was quickly contradicted by Muir. “ABC News did reach out to the city manager there,” the moderator said. “He told us there had been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
Trump protested and said that he had seen stories on TV about pets being eaten adding: “People on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food,’ so maybe he said that and maybe that’s a good thing to say for a city manager.”
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A variety of Simpsons-themed memes soon spread across social media, many featuring the family’s dog, Santa’s Little Helper, and cat Snowball II.
The account for the BBC show Have I Got News For You chimed in with an image of Homer Simpson and his dog writing: “US Presidential debate: After Trump claims people in Springfield are eating dogs, there’s concern about where he’s been getting his news from.”
