German foreign ministry to Trump: 'We don't eat cats and dogs'

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany's foreign ministry mocked U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's false assertion about immigrants eating pets in a post on the social platform X on Wednesday while pushing back against his criticism of German energy policy.

Trump amplified a false claim in Tuesday's debate with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris that numerous Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing residents' pets or taking wildlife from parks for food.

He also attacked Harris' bid to move the country towards what she says will be a more diverse and sustainable mix of energy sources, saying Germany had tried and failed to give up fossil fuels.

"Like it or not: Germany's energy system is fully operational, with more than 50% renewables. And we are shutting down – not building – coal & nuclear plants. Coal will be off the grid by 2038 at the latest," the foreign ministry said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"PS: We also don't eat cats and dogs. #Debate2024"

The economy ministry, which is also run by the Greens party, retweeted the post, saying: "New coal-fired power plants? No way!"

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has not directly endorsed Harris but praised her in July as a "competent and experienced politician who knows exactly what she is doing" and who could well win the U.S. election.

Germany was a frequent focus of Trump's ire during his 2017-21 term as president due to its trade surplus with the United States and low spending on defence.

Trump vows to impose higher tariffs on imports if elected and to condition U.S. support for members of the NATO military alliance on them spending the agreed 2% of GDP on defence. German officials have said they expect to meet the 2% target this year.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt and Sarah Marsh; editing by Matthias Williams and Philippa Fletcher)