Trump’s first tweet was about a “very large caravan” which he claims has over 20,000 people. He must have pulled that number out of his left ear because it has absolutely no basis in fact.
Most reputable news outlets put the number of immigrants at around 3,000 in the latest caravan to be broken up by Mexican police. Digital Journal has been following the story and as of last week, the National Human Rights Commission, says there are currently about 7,200 migrants in Chiapas, and another 1,600 are waiting to enter Mexico on the Rodolfo Robles bridge. That is a far cry from 20,000 people.
A very big Caravan of over 20,000 people started up through Mexico. It has been reduced in size by Mexico but is still coming. Mexico must apprehend the remainder or we will be forced to close that section of the Border & call up the Military. The Coyotes & Cartels have weapons!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
If this wasn’t enough, Trump decided to escalate his rhetoric with a conspiracy theory he thought up all by himself, tweeting that “Mexico’s Soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard Soldiers, probably as a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border.”
Here’s what really happened – “On April 13, 2019, at approximately 2 p.m. CDT, five to six Mexican military personnel questioned two U.S. Army soldiers who were conducting border support operations in an unmarked (Customs and Border Protection) vehicle near the southwest border in the vicinity of Clint, Texas,” US Northern Command told CNN in a statement. “The US soldiers were appropriately in US territory” during the encounter, the statement added.
During the encounter, one National Guardsman had his sidearm removed and placed in the border patrol vehicle. The weapon was allowed to be taken “in an attempt to de-escalate a potentially volatile situation.” The encounter took place south of the border fence in the area but north of the Rio Grande, yet still on U.S. soil.
“Though they were south of the border fence, US soldiers remained in US territory, north of the actual border,” the statement said, adding that “after a brief discussion between the soldiers from the two nations, the Mexican military members departed the area.”
The point is, why did Trump interject bullshit about the encounter with Mexican troops being a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border? The answer is simple – Trump loves fake news, even from his own lying mouth.
Mexico’s Soldiers recently pulled guns on our National Guard Soldiers, probably as a diversionary tactic for drug smugglers on the Border. Better not happen again! We are now sending ARMED SOLDIERS to the Border. Mexico is not doing nearly enough in apprehending & returning!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 24, 2019
So why does Trump want to make a mountain out of an molehill? It is fairly obvious to those of us that don’t have our heads in the sand that our great leader is as sly as a fox, and just as dangerous. As long as he can control the news feed, regardless of if it means spouting outright lies or conspiracy theories he has made up – he will do just that.
I really am at a loss for words when a so-called leader of the Free World governs this country based solely on fake facts and unfounded rumors supplied by his court jesters. Splinter News is more to the point, calling Trump “a warmongering imbecile.”
