Trump Surrogate Fact-Checked Over Immigrant Claims: ‘No Pets Being Eaten in Springfield’
Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
Donald Trump’s communications director, Mark Lotter, was briefly left speechless after his claims about immigrant takeovers in Colorado and Ohio were fact-checked live by CNN’s Kate Bolduan. The segment unfolded during a discussion about the 2024 election and Republican messaging on immigration.
Bolduan pressed Lotter on Trump’s recent promise to visit Springfield, Ohio, to highlight supposed issues caused by immigrants in the area. Bolduan questioned why Trump was pushing a debunked conspiracy theory involving immigrants. “Why would you advise him to go and do that?” she asked, referencing claims that immigrants were “eating pets” in the city.
Lotter defended Trump’s plans to visit Springfield, arguing that the situation there and in Aurora, Colorado, deserved attention. “I would advise him to go because what’s going on in Springfield, Ohio, what’s going on in Aurora, Colorado, it’s not just about a specific incident, it’s about what we see these unchecked immigrants doing to these communities,” he said.
Bolduan quickly interrupted, fact-checking Lotter’s claims. “It definitely has to do with specific things, Mark. Come on! It has officially entered the realm of gaslighting,” she said. “The governor [Mike DeWine] says it’s garbage… There are no pets being eaten in Springfield, so it is an embodiment or a representation of absolutely zero.”
Lotter, caught off guard, scaled back the allegations, but continued to insist that immigrant communities were straining resources in smaller towns. “You do have a community of 60,000 people that have had 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian immigrants dumped into that community,” he claimed, adding that residents were worried about reduced services and overcrowded parks.
Political commentator Karen Finney wasn’t buying it. She denounced Lotter’s claims and the GOP ticket, labeling the rhetoric as dangerous. “No, it’s disgusting and shameful, and it is endangering the lives of children and families,” Finney stated. “Businesses in Ohio had job shortages. They were recruiting Haitian migrants who are here legally to come to help fill… menial labor jobs that people who live there didn’t want to do.”
As Lotter continued to defend Trump’s messaging, Bolduan stopped him again for another fact check. “Just on a factual basis, it’s not highlighting a problem,” she said. “Factually it’s not happening in Springfield. Go find your problem elsewhere then if you want to have the factoid.”
The heated exchange reflected the ongoing battle over immigration as the 2024 election draws closer, with critics accusing Trump’s campaign of using fearmongering tactics rather than offering real solutions.
