They're Eating the Dogs

About

They're Eating the Dogs is a quote spoken by former President Donald Trump during the September 2024 U.S. Presidential Debate between Trump and Kamala Harris. The quote references unverified rumors of Haitian immigrants eating pets and geese in Springfield, Ohio, which went viral at the time of the debate, inspiring a meme trend in which users shared AI images of Trump with cats and ducks. After saying, "They're eating the dogs, they're eating the pets," Trump was fact-checked live by a moderator. The quote became a catchphrase in mid-September 2024 and inspired reactions and memes on social media, including a trend on TikTok in which users filmed their dogs listening to Trump say the line.

Origin

On September 10th, 2024, a presidential debate was held between Republican nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris. Around the 33:10 mark of The Wall Street Journal's YouTube^[1] stream of the debate, while discussing immigration, Trump says, "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. 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."

After making the claim, which was based on a viral rumor that spread online in the days before, Trump was fact-checked by one of the ABC News moderators and told there were no credible reports of immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. Trump claimed that he saw the story on TV.

Spread

The quote started trending on X / Twitter shortly after Trump spoke it, inspiring memes and reactions across social media. For example, on the night of September 10th, 2024, X^[2] user @PatrikSandberg posted a meme using a clip from The Simpsons in which the family's dog and cat look at each other nervously, referencing the fact that the Simpsons live in a town called Springfield (despite the town being based on Springfield, Oregon), garnering over 29,000 likes in a day.

On the same night, X^[3] user @deadeyebrakeman posted, "I can’t believe 'they’re eating the dogs' was a REBUTTAL to 'You say weird stuff at your rallies,'" garnering over 187,000 likes in a day. Soon after, the clip was uploaded to the subreddit /r/ThatsInsane,^[4] garnering over 16,000 upvotes in a day.

Later that night on September 10th, 2024, X^[5] user @ellievhall posted a meme depicting Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama laughing, captioned, "'And then he said, 'They’re eating the dogs! They’re eating the pets!'" garnering over 146,000 likes in a day. On September 11th, X^[6] user @Tarquin_Helmet posted a video filming their dog's reaction to Trump saying the line, garnering over 15,000 likes in under a day.

Also on September 11th, TikTokers began using an original sound consisting of Trump saying the line in a series of memes in which they film their dog's reaction to Trump's quote. For example, TikToker^[7] @thebossyaussies posted a video that day filming their dog's reaction, who appears startled, garnering over 225,000 views in under a day.

Various Examples

Related Memes

Alf Eating Cats

Alf Eating Cats refers to a series of memes referencing the 1980s sitcom character Alf and his desire to eat cats, specifically the cat belonging to the Tanner family, who he lives with. Most commonly, the memes use an image of Alf making a cat sandwich by putting a cat between two pieces of bread. Memes referencing Alf's hunger for cats appeared online occasionally throughout the 2000s. In September 2024, the memes saw an increase in popularity following the September 2024 U.S. presidential debate after Trump said "they're eating the pets," inspiring memes suggesting that the TV show that Trump saw the story about "aliens" eating cats on was Alf.

Search Interest

External References