Forget raining cats and dogs. During the second presidential debate, Donald Trump falsely claimed that immigrants in Ohio are instead eating them.
And feasting on residents’ pets wasn’t the only outrageous claim to come from the debate. Post-birth baby executions and “transgender operations on illegal aliens” were also topics of discussion.
On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump stood face-to-face for the first time ever and took the stage for the second presidential debate this election season.
Following the debate, Talker Research polled 1,000 American viewers, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats and with a subset of Independents, Libertarians or Green Party members, and looked to uncover the weirdest claims to come out of the debate.
According to the results, Haitian immigrants eating the pets of Springfield, Ohio residents ranked at the top of the list (27%). According to the Springfield Police Division, there have not been any reports related to pets being stolen and/or eaten. Republican vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance had been circulating this rumor on X (formerly Twitter) just days before the debate.
In second place comes the claim that American women are seeking abortions “in the ninth month” of pregnancy and are having “post-birth abortions” (23%). ABC moderators were quick to cite that there are laws in place that do not allow abortion to extend after birth.
Third was the claim that all Americans, specifically “every legal scholar, every Democrat, every Republican, every liberal, conservative,” were in favor of overturning Roe v. Wade and supporting a national abortion ban (14%).
While Harris was clear and firm in her stance that women’s healthcare access and control over their own bodies is imperative, Trump continued to avoid a direct stance on the issue.
When asked about any other outrageous claims, Americans highlighted Harris’ “constant lying about fracking,” or Trump’s comment that there would be a “bloodbath” if he loses November’s election.
Formal topics of discussion included the economy, reproductive rights, voter security, the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and more, though despite their best efforts, it’s clear that ABC’s moderators struggled to keep control.
Balancing the positive with the negative has proven to be a challenge throughout the election season, with so much up in the air. Still, more than two-thirds of Americans (77%) say that candidates having an overall positive attitude has an impact on their vote. Baby boomers (46%) are more likely to consider positivity a major contributor to their decision-making than millennials (42%).
TOP 5 CRAZY CLAIMS FROM THE SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE
Eating cats and dogs – 27%Baby execution after nine months – 23%National abortion ban – 14%Transgender “illegal alien” operations – 8%Paying people to attend rallies – 7%
Survey methodology:
Talker Research surveyed 1,000 Americans who watched the second presidential debate on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024 (400 Democrats, 400 Republicans and 200 Independent/Libertarian/Green Party members); the survey was administered and conducted online by Talker Research between Sept. 10 and Sept. 11, 2024.
We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:
Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentiveProgrammatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in
Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.
Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.
Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.
Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:
Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speedersOpen ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant textBots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify botsDuplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once
It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.
