Donald Trump likes to talk tough. And the closer we get to the midterms, the tougher the talk. But is any of it true? Unlikely.
Today at the White House Trump said he had ended “catch and release,” the program that allows asylum seekers to be released while they await their court date. The reason for ending the program? Trump said asylum seekers don’t show up for their court date. Wrong.
The speech was so full of lies that CNN interrupted Trump to fact check him live! That was quite a moment.
A quick live fact check of some of Trump’s immigration falsehoods https://t.co/ilY1CFq5Ry @TheLeadCNN
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) November 1, 2018
Trump also went off the deep end by saying if any members of the caravan throw rocks at members of the military, “we would consider that a firearm” and they would, or could, open fire. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold on. First of all, the military is being dispatched to the border in a support role. They are not there as law enforcement. That’s illegal.
JUST IN: Donald Trump says if migrant caravan throws stones "we would consider that a firearm… there’s not much difference" https://t.co/sOxSzX1ouf pic.twitter.com/6n2OYyCVR0
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) November 1, 2018
For those who cover the Pentagon, and have been briefed on the mission, Trump’s statements came as quite a surprise.
"What I heard was a major disconnect between what the president is saying" and what senior military officials say about the U.S. military's role at the border, @LMartinezABC says as troops have "constantly been told that they are there in a support role" https://t.co/Y35v98i3Ig pic.twitter.com/CLLddsWVMx
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) November 1, 2018
Consider this a new low for this president.
American President orders troops to shoot unarmed migrants in order to win an election is not a great moment for this country https://t.co/qSbLfLVMGv
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) November 1, 2018