A Major Disconnect; Trump And The Military Have Differing Views On Border Role

IXTEPEC, MEXICO - OCTOBER 29: A group of Hondurans , some of the thousands of Central American migrants walking in a caravan, take a rest along the street on October 29, 2018 in Ixtepec Mexico. Following a break on Sunday, the migrants, many of them fleeing violence in their home countries, resumed their march towards the United States border. As fatigue from the heat distance and poor sanitary conditions has set in, the numbers of people participating in the march has slowly dwindled but a significant group are determined to get to the United States. President Donald Trump has ordered 5,000 active-duty troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to prevent members of the migrant caravan from illegally entering the country. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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