Since its upload, the video has been viewed by over 7,800,000 people. Posted on YouTube on September 13, 2024, the song “Eating the Cats ft. Donald Trump (Debate Remix)” has become the hit of its creator, South African musician David Scott, aka The Kiffness.
Like many people, the artist had the opportunity to see Donald Trump’s speech during a debate opposing him to Kamala Harris as part of the American presidential campaign. The speech of the Republican candidate, during which he claims that the inhabitants of Springfield (a small town in Ohio) have their cats and dogs eaten by migrants, went viral very quickly. These false statements about Haitian migrants have sparked many reactions.
“Don’t eat my cat, eat something else”
Rather than making yet another comment, The Kiffness chose to capitalize on it. “I was getting ready for my tour when my friends sent me this video of Donald Trump and I thought Oh my god I have to do this now. “I saw the video on Wednesday, the song was ready on Thursday evening, Friday morning I woke up, I shot the video, I edited it and put it online on Friday afternoon, it was ready to travel the world,” he told France 24.
Over an Afrobeat beat, the American candidate can be seen delivering his now-viral fake news. David Scott also sings a few lyrics, which he wrote himself, during the remix: “People of Springfield, please don’t eat my cat. Why would you do that? Eat something else,” he says, while meows can be heard in the background.
A regular in successful remixes
The bet is more than successful for this artist already accustomed to successful remix videos: some of his creations have had tens of millions of views on YouTube or Spotify. He has gotten into the habit of making them since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. “I had nothing better to do, I was a live musician, and so I started making videos in which I remixed people and animals all over the world. (…) I also made videos about what was happening in South Africa. (…) I had the impression that Donald Trump talking about dogs and cats was a kind of collusion of the two worlds, in the most unexpected way possible,” he said.
The Kiffness have already had the opportunity to play their new hit live in Berlin, Germany, and are preparing to give a concert at the Élysée Montmartre, in Paris, this Wednesday, September 25, on the occasion of their European tour.
In a message posted on Twitter, David Scott claimed that he had no political strategy behind his mind: “I am flattered that my song is being played around the world but please do not attribute any agenda to me,” he wrote. The singer also specified that all the funds generated by this video would be donated to the SPCA of Springfield, an animal shelter, which has thus, since the posting of the video, received several thousand dollars.
