When "They're eating The Dogs, They're eating The Cats" goes wrong

When you're the focus of music mixes, rap beats and dance routines, somehow your message isn't hitting its main point.

In the world of Politics 2024, one slip up on the debate stage will cause people to laugh at you. In this case, it’s former president Donald J. Trump who accused certain ‘immigrants’ of eating dogs, cats and other pets. When pressed by moderator David Muir of ABC News, all Mr. Trump could do in his defense was say he learned of this story from “television” although he failed to disclose where on television this was shared.

The ‘slip up’ is in the form of his quote which now as been used countless times on Tik Tok and other social media platforms. (Maybe not on the former Twitter now “X”, but that’s for another time). Memes, mixes, raps, and now dance routines with people in costume disguised as a dog or cat, and an assist from AI technology has finally cemented this one indisputable fact: we are now officially in the ‘silly season’ of politics.

The Silly Season – reserved for bombshell “October Surprises” and other such innuendo that could sink a candidacy, is now reserved for this one comment from Mr. Trump “They’re eating the dogs; they’re eating the cats”. Sure enough, the rest of the social media world has taken off and ran with it in their own way.

Listen, as a man who seeks facts than fiction, I would have loved to hear where on television did Mr. Trump get this bombastic information from? A right wing network? A left leaning program? A trustworthy news outlet? As in the days of the Tootsie Pops, “the world may never know”. Then again, the users who mix, rap and dance to this quote are letting off some steam, perhaps? Fresh off a pandemic along with battling inflation and other challenges at home or abroad, maybe this is a response to the silliness we hear and see everyday – and have fun with it. This quote with a beat may not be funny to one presidential candidate, but the sheer lunacy of it spoken out loud is a source of scorn, laughter and just good old fun -at someone’s expense.

It is without question the silly season is upon us. Who knows when the next flub becomes a meme, rap song or dance number? In the few weeks we have left before Election Day, all this observer will say is: anything’s possible.

Charles L. Chatmon is an author, poet and observer from Los Angeles, California. He has been a contributor for community-based newspapers and magazines. He works in the field of education as a teacher. He may be reached at charleslchatmon.com where you can learn more from him on his website.