In the US election campaign, Trump has repeatedly made false accusations against migrants. One of them even made it into the TV debate between Harris and Trump: Trump claimed that migrants had stolen and eaten cats and dogs in Springfield. There is no evidence for this, as the city administration of Springfield assures. There are “no credible reports” that such a thing has happened, they told the BBC.
The fact that the story is far-fetched does not seem to play a role in the “alternative world” of Trump and his supporters, says political scientist Thomas Jäger.
Thomas Jaeger
Political scientist
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The political scientist Thomas Jäger is Professor of International Politics and Foreign Policy with a focus on the USA at the University of Cologne.
SRF News: Statements like “they eat our cats” are currently making the rounds in the election campaign and causing outrage. What effect does Trump hope to achieve with this?
Thomas Jäger: From his first speech as a candidate before the 2016 election, the stigmatization of migrants has been a constant theme for Trump. He describes them as criminals who are taking away American citizens’ security and prosperity. In order to maintain the anger against migrants, Trump has to use increasingly strong images and slogans because they have become ingrained over time.
Trump repeated the false claim about cats being stolen and eaten during the TV debate, claiming that many cities don’t talk about it because they are embarrassed.
REUTERS / Evelyn Hockstein
The accusation that migrants eat pets is a further step in the stigmatization of migrants. Pets are always portrayed in a positive light in the media and the image of strangers stealing your pet to eat it is already stuck in many people’s minds. The fact that it is not true is irrelevant.
Pictures have a more dramatic effect than text; strong images beat any argument.
Trump, as a master of political marketing, has once again put an image in the minds of his supporters and perhaps it goes beyond that. It is another building block to seal off the echo chamber around Trump’s “alternative world” in which he won the election and is politically persecuted, an echo chamber that has now become a socialization space for his supporters.
What role does racism play in the current election campaign?
Trump has always played on racist prejudices while at the same time campaigning for the votes of African-Americans and Latinos. The two things go hand in hand with him. He also tried to portray his opponent in the same way. Even if he says that he is not interested in people’s origins, he soon plays on the racist prejudices of his supporters again. This approach has always been characteristic of Trump.
The cat memes are also being widely shared on social media. Is this primarily intended to attract the attention of young voters?
The cat as an image in the election campaign was already used with JD Vance’s term “childless cat women”. Taylor Swift also used a cat when she announced her support for Harris and described herself as a childless cat woman. Taylor Swift has such a great influence on mobilizing young voters that it will be difficult for the Trump campaign to counter it.
But mobilization to vote is emerging from the information spaces of social media, and the younger the people, the stronger. Images have a more dramatic effect than text, and strong images beat any argument. That’s why it’s important to spread strong images.
The interview was conducted by Evelyne Schlauri.
