Trump's Own Team Knows His Caravan Claims Are Bullshit

Asked for evidence supporting the president’s claims about the caravan, a senior administration official told reporters to ask ‘the Mexican authorities.’

Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng, Sam Stein, Will Sommer

10.23.18 7:52 PM ET

Donald Trump and his political allies have embarked on an aggressive, end-of-the-campaign effort to drum up fear among voters about a caravan of poor migrants several thousand miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Much of it is mistruths and embellishments, but Trumpland could care less.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s 100 percent accurate,” a senior Trump administration official told The Daily Beast. “This is the play.”

Over the past few days, Trump has issued cryptic warnings about the southern border being overrun. His vice president has amplified baseless accusations that terrorists may have infiltrated the group of—largely—Honduran asylum seekers. And conservative media have provided ’round-the-clock coverage of what they depict as a mob gaining in size and steam.

Stoking immigration fears is a tried and true political winner for the Republican Party. In 2014, GOP lawmakers were able to capitalize on a surge of families rushing to the southern border and opaque warnings that ISIS agents, carrying the Ebola virus, could sift through undetected.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-own-teams-know-his-caravan-claims-arent-true-dont-particularly-care?ref=home