Trump Revives Debunked Claims About Haitian Immigrants at Ohio Rally

COLUMBUS, Ohio — President Donald Trump renewed attacks on Haitian and Somali immigrants during a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, while stumping for Republican Sen. Jon Husted, according to AP News and SEE News. Husted, appointed in 2024 to replace Vice President JD Vance, faces a competitive challenge from Democrat Sherrod Brown. During the rally, Trump repeated debunked allegations from a 2024 presidential debate that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating local pets — a claim the reports note was based on an unverified secondhand Facebook post whose author later deleted it and apologized. Trump declared "I was right" and celebrated what he said was an exodus of Haitians from Springfield, where roughly 15,000 Haitians arrived in recent years in a city of 60,000. The reports note the administration ended a program that had allowed more than 350,000 Haitians to stay legally. Trump also made disparaging remarks about Somali immigrants, calling them "low IQ." His comments came the same day federal agents searched the Washington home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali-born Minnesota Democrat. Trump also referenced races involving Vivek Ramaswamy and Amy Acton, according to the outlets.