Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is taking issue with memes.
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing focused on the situation in the U.S.-Mexico border on Tuesday, Swalwell brought in a blown-up post on X from the Republicans on the committee.
It featured an artificial intelligence-generated image of former President Donald Trump hugging a duck and a cat with the caption, “Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!”
Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio! pic.twitter.com/YnTZStPnsg
— House Judiciary GOP(@JudiciaryGOP) September 9, 2024
Swalwell asked indignantly, “What in the hell is this? The chairman protects our ducks and kittens in Ohio because he goes down some crazy rabbit hole, completely debunked, that aliens are eating pets!”
“My God! Are you OK, Mr. Chairman?” He asked. “Because last year, for a very long time, you tweeted and promoted Kanye West as he was calling for genocide against the Jews.”
Swalwell added, “And now when we have victims coming here, you’re tweeting this nonsense. I don’t know why you would do this. I hope you’re OK. I don’t know if the aliens who are eating your ducks are in the room with us right now. But, Mr. Chairman, this is a serious issue, these people have loved ones who have been lost, and you tweeted this.”
Watch the video below:
The meme comes from a debunked story of Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating residents’ pet cats.
The claims went viral after a resident made the allegation during a City Commission in August.
However, the Springfield Police Department told Spectrum News, “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
“Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents’ homes,” the law enforcement statement continued. “Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.”
