Felines have clawed their way from being the focus of silly internet videos to a serious presidential campaign issue just as former President Donald Trump hosts a rally on Long Island.
Haitian immigrants and their supporters in Nassau County pounced on Trump’s claim that Haitian immigrants in Ohio are eating cats — an allegation that his running mate, Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance, told CNN on Sunday that he made up. “Childless cat ladies” hissed when Vance mocked them, turning the phrase into a rallying cry in support of the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris. And students from Nassau Community College and Hofstra University — the home of the Lions and the Pride, respectively — howled as Trump’s rally and the ensuing protests brought so much traffic to neighboring Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale on Tuesday that classes were canceled.
“I am absolutely appalled and disgusted by these reckless and downright racist attacks,” Nassau County Legislator Carrié Solages (D-Valley Stream) said, batting at the Republican presidential nominees’ claims that Haitians are eating pet cats. “This type of hateful rhetoric will cause innocent people to be targeted for bigotry, bullying and abuse.”
Solages, who is Haitian, made that statement in response to Vance making the cat-eating claims on social media last week. A day later, Trump swatted away the criticism and declared during the Sept. 10 televised presidential debate with Harris that “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.” The governor of Ohio and mayor of Springfield both later jumped in to tell the public their pets are safe — although Haitian immigrants crouch in fear of the threats that the rhetoric has spurred.
Trump has long pawed at stories of crimes committed by immigrants to rally supporters — he cited recent cases ahead of his visit to Nassau, where police and Republican lawmakers tout record-low crime stats — just as he did during two stops on LI in 2016. Ironically during a 2016 visit to Patchogue, he touted having good relationships with Latinos while advocates for Hispanic immigrants protested outside the venue, which was nearby where a group of teenagers on the prowl murdered an immigrant in a high-profile hate crime.
Unlike immigrants running for cover, childless cat ladies turned Vance’s dig into a badge of honor. When Taylor Swift endorsed Harris, citing Harris’ support for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF and a woman’s right to choose in an Instagram post to her 284 million followers immediately after the presidential debates, she posted her message with a photo of her and her cat named Olivia Benson. She signed it, “Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady.”
Local animal advocates also seized the moment. Humane Long Island, a nonprofit advocacy group, reminded the public to remain vigilant following a recent case of man convicted of dog fighting being accused of violating his probation by keeping four dogs and seven chickens in his home.
John Di Leonardo, anthrozoologist and executive director of Humane Long Island, said, “We need not imagine people eating pets in Springfield to find animals in need of rescue.”
