Megyn Kelly Desperately Vies For Trump's Attention By Taking His Most Bizarre Claims A Step Further

Springfield, Ohio became the subject of one of the most memorable moments of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump's 2024 presidential debate. The city has a large number of settled Haitian migrants whom the Trump campaign sought to use as nightmare-fuel to push their anti-immigration agenda. The boldest claim of the debate, which was previously shared by J.D. Vance and several other prominent Republicans, was that the immigrants were stealing and eating people's pets, namely cats and dogs. Since the debate, it has become a major talking point, bringing unwanted attention to the immigration crisis. While the claim was officially debunked, Megyn Kelly decided to vociferously defend it on her podcast, "The Megyn Kelly Show," by adding an additional, bizarre detail. 

As the former Fox News host argued, "That's the thing about Trump: Believe it or don't believe it. And frankly, I saw two cats on a barbecue on Chris Rufo's feed, but whatever." Kelly was referring to a video posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on September 14, 2024 that apparently showed a cat being barbecued. A cursory glance at the responses to the post displays a divided reaction, with many saying it actually looks like a raw chicken and others hailing it as proof of "Another 'debunked' story that turned out to have merit," as Vance himself confidently posited.  

It's worth noting that Vance doubled down on the claim during the vice presidential debate too. Kelly's defense, meanwhile, focused more on Trump. She proclaimed, "That's him bringing an issue home to people in a way that you can remember. It's easy to remember and it's horrifying, and either way, it keeps the issue in the news non-stop." The "either way" arguably references whether or not the claim is actually factual. Thus, it appears Kelly is more concerned about getting into Trump's good graces than taking a hardline position on immigrants eating pets in Ohio.

The Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio and others around the country often arrive in the States to mixed, and even outright hostile, reactions. Some asylum seekers enter the U.S. illegally and then obtain legal protected status in the country. Not everyone is happy about their presence, but the vast majority of people are totally fine with immigrants traveling here for better lives, per a poll from the CATO Institute. When Donald Trump made the outlandish, and wildly offensive, pet-eating claim during the debate, he was immediately fact-checked by moderator David Muir. He pointed out that ABC News had received confirmation from the Ohio city manager that there was absolutely no evidence it was happening, much to the former president's obvious irritation. 

J.D. Vance and Trump have a complicated relationship and he clearly didn't appreciate being made to look foolish in front of the entire nation thanks to his VP. In fact, the best evidence that migrants aren't eating pets actually came directly from Vance. As one of the most prominent people who spread the rumors, the Ohio senator was eventually confronted about them. When asked on "State of the Union," he contended, "If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that's what I'm going to do," (via CNN). Even introducing the idea that he fabricated the story casts major doubt about how accurate these claims are. As a result, it's most likely not happening, no matter what Megyn Kelly saw on X.