CNN
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Donald Trump wanted to spend this week attacking one of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris’ biggest political vulnerabilities. Instead, he spent most of the week falsely claiming that migrants were eating pets in a small Ohio town and defending his support of a far-right agitator whose presence has caused concern among his allies.

Trump’s repeated parroting of unsubstantiated social media rumors that Haitian migrants are eating pets in Ohio made headlines during a trip west that included stops in Arizona and Nevada later this week. The spread of those claims overshadowed a series of speeches that targeted the economy and blamed Harris for border security failures.

Trump announced “major deportations” from Springfield, Ohio, at a press conference in California on Friday – the city that has become a political flashpoint after Republicans, including Trump and his running mate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, spread false claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets.

The City of Springfield notes on its website that approximately 12,000 to 15,000 immigrants live in Clark County and that Haitian immigrants are legally residing there under a parole program that allows citizens and legal residents to apply for their family members to immigrate from Haiti to the United States.

He also referenced a Venezuelan gang in Aurora, Colorado. Trump continued to use dehumanizing language to describe illegal immigrants, saying that “nests of bad people” were being emptied into the United States.

“It’s like an invasion from within and we’re going to see the largest deportation in the history of our country. And we’re going to start with Springfield and Aurora,” Trump said.

“People in Ohio are scared,” he said. “It’s going to get worse. It’s going to get so bad. What we’re seeing now is that they’re just getting settled in.”

Republicans broadly believe immigration and border security is a major policy issue for the party – and one they can use to attack Harris, whom they have dubbed President Joe Biden’s “border czar.” That label comes from Biden’s 2021 nomination for the vice president to pursue diplomatic relations with El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras to address the conditions that have led their citizens to immigrate to the United States.

But during Tuesday’s debate, Trump’s attacks on Harris on immigration reached outrageous proportions when he falsely claimed that migrants were eating dogs and cats in Springfield.

Biden responded sharply to Trump’s comments and criticism.

“This is just wrong. And there is no place for this in America. This has to stop – what he is doing – has to stop,” Biden said during a Black Excellence brunch held at the White House on Friday.

Springfield City Hall was closed on Thursday due to a bomb threat. Two elementary schools in Springfield were evacuated on Friday “based on information from Springfield Police,” the Springfield City School District said Friday.

Springfield Mayor Rob Rue on Thursday night urged national candidates – a clear reference to Trump and Vance – to “pay attention to what their words do to cities like ours.”

“We need help, not hate,” Rue said.

Trump dismissed those concerns on Friday.

“No, no. The real threat is what is happening at our border,” he said.

Even Pope Francis sharply criticized Trump on Friday for his stance on immigration and sharply attacked Harris for her support of abortion rights.

“Sending migrants away, leaving them wherever you want, leaving them behind… that is a terrible thing, that is evil. Sending a child away from the womb is murder, because there is life there. We must speak clearly about these things,” the Pope said.

Vance, Trump’s running mate, argued that Trump’s comments had sparked the discussion on immigration – even as he acknowledged on “X” the fragility of the rumors underlying the story.

On Tuesday, Vance posted: “It is of course possible that all of these rumors turn out to be false.” But the credibility of the claims did not seem to be his biggest concern.

“Don’t let a biased media deceive you into not discussing this slowly unfolding humanitarian crisis in a small Ohio town. We should be talking about it every day. Kamala Harris has done that. And she will continue to do so unless we stop her,” he posted on X on Friday.

The allegations that pets and farm animals were being eaten in Ohio were not the only high-profile moment this week that drew focus to the former president’s campaign.

Trump spends time with far-right agitator Laura Loomer, who spreads conspiracy theories about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and has posted racist comments against Harris on social media.

Several people close to the former president say Loomer has contributed to some of the inappropriate conspiracy theories Trump has spread since Harris replaced Biden on the ballot, a move that has left the Republican nominee increasingly unsettled by the political landscape he now faces.

Trump described Loomer on Friday as a “free spirit” and “supporter.”

“She’s a strong personality. She has strong opinions and I don’t know what she said, but that’s not my business. She’s a supporter,” Trump said.

Alex Floyd, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, highlighted Trump’s relationship with Loomer and other controversial allies on Friday, saying the people around Trump were “as professional as you would expect from a convicted fraudster.”

Trump and Harris were back on the campaign trail late this week, according to a CNN poll of debate viewers conducted by SSRS, after a debate Tuesday night saw 63 percent of viewers say Harris was ahead to Trump’s 37 percent.

The former president’s trip west came as Harris was campaigning in Pennsylvania – the biggest battleground in the 2024 election, where 19 electoral college votes are up for grabs.

In total, $175 million has already been spent on television advertising in the state — more than $93 million for Democrats and more than $81 million for Republicans, according to data from AdImpact. Another $136 million, including nearly $77 million for Democrats and $59 million for Republicans, was booked between Saturday and Election Day. That’s more than was spent or reserved in any other state.

Harris needs high turnout in Democratic strongholds like Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but also to narrow Trump’s lead in Republican parts of the state. Her visit on Friday focused on two counties that Trump won in both elections to the White House – Cambria and Luzerne.

“At the end of the day, I firmly believe we have to earn every vote, and that means spending time with people in the community where they live. That’s why I’m here. We’re going to be spending a lot more time in Pennsylvania,” Harris told reporters at a Johnstown bookstore on Friday.

CNN’s Kit Maher, Betsy Klein, Ebony Davis and Kate Sullivan contributed to this report.