Fox News anchor Shepard Smith on Monday repudiated claims by President Donald Trump and his own network of the risks posed by a so-called “caravan” of migrants making its way toward the U.S. border.
“There is no invasion. No one’s coming to get you. There’s nothing at all to worry about.” Shepard Smith
“Tomorrow the migrants, according to Fox News reporting, are more than two months away, if any of them actually come here,” Smith said on the air Monday. “But tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about.”
Shep Smith on the migrant caravan: "There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about." pic.twitter.com/4dLmPuZem0
— Jon Passantino (@passantino) October 29, 2018
Trump on Monday tweeted to the Central American migrants to “go back,” adding “This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you!”
Critics have blasted Trump for stoking anti-immigrant rhetoric and drumming up fear ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, and that message had been amplified by Fox News commentators, who on multiple occasions have portrayed the caravan as an immediate threat to the U.S.
Read: This map shows how far the migrant caravan is from the U.S. border
In fact, the migrants are still about 1,000 miles from the U.S. border, and they are largely fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries and seeking asylum in the U.S.
On Monday, the U.S. military said it was sending about 5,000 troops to the border.
Smith accused Trump and other politicians of using the caravan to “gin up fear” in a cynical pre-election ploy. He noted that similar rhetoric about another migrant caravan dissipated earlier this year.
“When they did this to us, got us all riled up in April, remember?” Smith said. “The result was 14 arrests. We’re America, we can handle it. But like I said, a week to the election.”
Also see: Opinion: President Trump wants you and all Americans to be very, very afraid
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