Fading quickly from the headlines, last week’s presidential debate was noteworthy only for its three-on-one format, in which former president Donald Trump found himself debating not just rival Kamala Harris but also two ABC News moderators.

Indeed, the only line from the entire 90-minute stoush that maintained prolonged national interest was the Donald’s, “they’re eating the dogs; they’re eating the cats” — in reference to the Haitian migrant crisis unfolding in Springfield, Ohio.

A boorish and thoroughly Trumpian spin on the issue, at the time, it seemed a uniquely forgettable remark. However, if Trump has polished one skill as a political figure, it’s the ability to voice the concerns of vast swathes of unpretentious Americans in unpretentious ways.

Within hours, memelords had flooded social media with AI art depicting the 45th President rescuing pets from impending doom. Trending on TikTok and X were mixes, remixes, cartoons and even dance moves to the tune of “They’re eating the dogs / They’re eating the cats / Eat the cat / Eat, eat the cat”.

They're eating the DOGS! They're eating the CATS!🎯🤣 pic.twitter.com/OtAioVIh72

— FreedomToons (@Freedom_Toons) September 17, 2024

In an effort to “pre-bunk” any Trump commentary on events in Springfield, moderator David Muir opined that ABC News had reached out to the city manager who “told us there have been no credible reports of specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”

The global media blob promptly issued thousands of articles apparently refuting Trump on this and other points he raised during Tuesday’s debate. America’s prestige press made a particular effort to redirect the nation’s concerns to alleged bomb threats made against Ohio’s immigrant communities.

However, once the “news” had run its course, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine clarified that the bomb threats had turned out to be hoaxes originating from overseas.

Meanwhile, footage emerged of Springfield’s city manager Bryan Heck acknowledging as early as March of this year that he’s “heard about it too,” in reference to the abduction of local domesticated animals.

Now we have the Springfield City Manager acknowledging on video that they’ve heard of complaints of domestic animals being eaten back in March.

We also have a call report showing this.

Why would they lie about there not being complaints?

Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/ejktkvxIRo

— Dustin Grage (@GrageDustin) September 17, 2024

Judicial Watch was one of several organisations to obtain official records of 911 calls about missing pets from Springfield.

And it took just days for independent journalist Christopher Rufo to have “conducted an exclusive investigation that reveals that, yes, in fact, some migrants in Ohio appear to have been ‘eating the cats’” — though he acknowledged it was “not exactly in the manner that Trump described.” He explained:

Our investigation begins in a run-down neighborhood of Dayton, Ohio, the closest major city to Springfield, about a half-hour’s drive away. We identified a social media post, dated August 25, 2023, with a short video depicting what appear to be two skinned cats on top of a blue barbeque.

We spoke with the author of the video, who asked to remain anonymous but confirmed its time, location, and authenticity.

Days later, Rufo responded to a CBS News attempt to “fact check” his investigation, calling it “a supremely dishonest and completely partisan report,” elaborating:

What did CBS not do? Journalism. The network, which has massive resources, did not send a reporter to the scene, interview the eyewitness, interview the neighbors, investigate the visual evidence, conduct background research, or provide a detailed analysis. They simply adopted “don’t believe your lying eyes” as their standard and repeated an empty, evidence-free statement from a partisan political figure.

Contending for a universal negative (especially regarding a culture known to practice animal sacrifice as part of the Vodou religion) was always going to be a gamble — but it was evidently one mainstream journalists couldn’t resist in the never-ending quest to prove that orange man bad.