During a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday focused on the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the border crisis, Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) strongly criticized the GOP committee leadership for posting a meme of Trump hugging a duck and a cat. The meme came amid reports that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, have allegedly been capturing and eating animals from a local park.
“What is this? The Chairman tweets, ‘protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio,’ based on some wild, completely debunked claim that aliens are eating pets?” Swalwell said, visibly frustrated, as he placed a hand on his forehead.
Swalwell continued, “Are you okay, Mr. Chairman? Last year, for a long time, you promoted Kanye West even as he called for genocide against Jews, and you left those tweets up. Now, when we have people fleeing their homes and seeking safety, you’re tweeting this nonsense.”
He added, “I don’t know why you’d post something like this. I hope you’re alright. Maybe the aliens eating your ducks are here with us today, but this is a serious matter. These are real people who’ve lost loved ones, and you’re tweeting this.”
The controversy stems from an August Springfield City Commission meeting where a resident claimed that Haitian immigrants had been seen in a park, grabbing ducks by the neck, decapitating them, and eating them. The city has been struggling to manage an influx of approximately 20,000 Haitian immigrants in recent years.