Alexandra Ulmer and Costas Pitas , Reuters; Trump, at Latino event, stands by false claims of immigrants eating pets
"Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on Wednesday stood by debunked claims that immigrants in Ohio were eating pets, telling Latino voters during a town hall he was "just saying what was reported."
Trump in recent weeks has amplified a false claim that has gone viral that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents' pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.
There have been no credible reports of Haitians eating pets, and officials in Ohio - including Republicans - have repeatedly said the story is untrue.
At a town hall hosted by Spanish-language TV Univision, an undecided Mexican-born Latino Republican voter from Arizona, a battleground state, asked Trump in Spanish whether he truly believed that immigrants were eating pets.
"I was just saying what was reported... And eating other things too that they're not supposed to be. All I do is report," Trump replied during the event held in Miami. "I was there, I'm going to be there and we're going to take a look.""
