CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings scoffed at anchor Jim Acosta’s suggestion on Friday that Republican nominee Donald Trump is not mentally fit to serve public office based on his claims about migrants eating pets.
Trump has continued echoing unconfirmed reports that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, are decapitating geese in local parks and eating residents’ pets. Jennings argued it is disingenuous to compare Trump’s mental capacity to President Joe Biden’s, stating that the former president should remain as the Republican nominee.
“He’s the Republican nominee, he went through a primary. And unlike the Democrats, we actually respect the democratic process,” Jennings said. “We had people vote, they voted for Trump, he’s the party’s nominee.”
“But Scott, I remember you going on and on about President Biden after the debate and I’m just wondering, do you think Trump is all there?” Acosta asked. “Is he a sound mind talking about people stealing geese?”
CNN’s Jim Acosta suggests Trump is not mentally fit for office because he believes migrants are eating pets pic.twitter.com/hRdZUI2WBi
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Jennings argued Trump is the “same candidate” he was in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections, and said it is “ridiculous” to compare Trump and Biden’s mental states.
“He is the same and he represents the same type of politics he always has. I don’t know if it’ll be enough this time, but no, I think to compare him to the absolute vacant Joe Biden is kinda ridiculous, honestly,” Jennings said.
CNN political commentator Paul Begala suggested Trump is mentally ill and needs to get evaluated, arguing that he is “cracking” under all of the stress that he is under. He and Jennings both highlighted how the upcoming election is a “dead heat race.”
Trump said during Tuesday night’s debate and during a rally in Arizona on Thursday that Haitian migrants are “walking off with the town’s geese” and the residents’ cats and dogs in Springfield. These allegations have become a center focus among media and political figures since resident Anthony Harris asserted that Haitian migrants are decapitating and eating ducks and geese in parks during a local city commission meeting in August.
Police charged 27-year-old Alexis Telia Ferrell, an American citizen, on Aug. 16 of stomping on the head of a cat and eating it in front of her neighbors in Canton, Ohio, according to Fox 12. Bodycam footage of the incident went viral on social media, sparking rumors that the migrants in Springfield are eating pet cats.
The police division in Springfield has denied receiving any evidence that pets are being stolen and eaten by migrants, according to The Springfield-News Sun. Karen Graves, a spokeswoman for the city, said the community has received no “credible reports” regarding the matter, according to The New York Times.
The rumors have led to the creation of numerous internet memes about Trump rescuing cats and ducks. Republican vice presidential candidate and Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance said on Tuesday that his office has received inquiries of residents’ pets being “abducted” by migrants, and urged social media users to keep posting the cat memes in order to draw attention to Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in the southern border crisis.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said spreading these reports are endangering the lives of Haitian migrants and that anyone who believes these rumors should not hold elected office.
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