‘What the F just happened?’: Jon Stewart reacts to Trump ‘eating pets’ rant

In a special live episode of The Daily Show following the debate between former U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice-President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night, host Jon Stewart was left stunned.

"What the f— just happened?" Stewart exclaimed, expressing disbelief at Trump's statements.

Stewart mocked Trump for his baseless claims about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, supposedly eating pets. Trump had said during the debate, “We’re a failing nation. In Springfield, they’re eating the dogs, the people that came in. They’re eating the cats. They’re eating the pets of the people that live there.”

Stewart responded humorously, "Having spent some time in Springfield myself, I believe I know what’s happening here. I believe Trump himself may be becoming one of Springfield’s most famous residents," before cutting to a clip of Grandpa Simpson from The Simpsons.

He then issued a mock PSA: "A quick reminder to all the pet owners out there: Always remember to leash your dogs. It’s an important way to keep your dog from fighting other dogs, getting hit by a car, or being eaten by your immigrant neighbors."

Debate moderator David Muir, anchor of ABC’s World News Tonight, interrupted Trump’s remarks to clarify that Springfield's city manager had stated there was no evidence of pets being eaten by immigrants. When Trump insisted, “the people on television say their dog was eaten by the people that went there,” Muir corrected him again, reiterating that no evidence existed.

Trump's claims echoed those made by his campaign and fellow Republicans. Ohio Sen. JD Vance had posted on X the day before, alleging, “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country.” He later mentioned receiving inquiries from Springfield residents who claimed local wildlife and pets were taken by Haitian migrants, though he acknowledged these rumors could be false.

Other Republicans shared similar posts, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who posted a photo of kittens with the caption urging voters to support Trump "so Haitian immigrants don’t eat us."

Hours before the debate, Trump posted two AI-generated images on his social media platform, Truth Social—one showing him surrounded by cats and geese, and another featuring armed cats wearing MAGA hats.

In his debate recap, Stewart also highlighted Trump and Harris’ contrasting positions on abortion. Clips showed Trump saying, “We’ve gotten what everybody wanted” after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Harris responded, “I have talked with women around our country... Pregnant women who want to carry a pregnancy to term, suffering from a miscarriage, being denied care in an emergency room because the health-care providers are afraid they might go to jail — and she’s bleeding out in a car in the parking lot? She didn’t want that.”

Stewart praised Harris' performance, gleefully saying, "Holy s—, she crushed that."

He compared the debate to a "Groundhog Day" scenario, where a bad situation was corrected, saying, "This is like one of those movies where you get to go back and fix the bad way something happened earlier to the good way."

Later in the show, Stewart turned more serious, criticizing Trump’s response to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump had claimed during the debate that Nancy Pelosi was to blame because “she didn’t do her job.” Stewart didn’t hold back: “You spent two months riling up your base that our country had literally been stolen from them through fraudulent means... You abused their trust. You showed up for a speech? You f—ing tweeted, ‘Join me on January 6, it will be wild.’”

Stewart then addressed Trump’s supporters directly: “This man, who constantly professes to be your champion... will always, when the boat is going down, be the first into the lifeboats, because in that moment, he will always say the same thing: ‘I didn’t know anything about it.’”

“In any other country,” Stewart concluded, “that lack of accountability would be disqualifying.”