President Trump unleashes a flurry of false statements in the run-up to the midterm elections

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Oct 23

President Trump unleashes a flurry of false statements in the run-up to the midterm elections https://abcn.ws/2EP6i30 Analysis via @JustinFishelABC

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Trump unleashes a flurry of false statements in run-up to midterm elections: Analysis

By Justin Fishel

Oct 23, 2018, 2:19 PM ET

PHOTO: President Donald Trump arrives for a campaign rally at the Toyota Center in Houston, Oct. 22, 2018.
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
WATCH Trump fires up base with false claims on migrant caravan

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If last week was about keeping up with the dizzying pace President Trump's campaign and media appearances, this week is about keeping up with all the false statements and empty promises.
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With just two weeks to the midterm elections, the president seems to be throwing something new at the wall everyday, watching to see what sticks. Fact Checkers are having trouble keeping up, but here's a quick snapshot:

Sending troops to the border
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"Middle Easterners"

The president also claimed multiple times Monday that "Middle Easterners are mixed in" to the caravan. He has provided no evidence to back that claim, nor has anyone in his administration. Not to mention he's falsely suggesting "Middle Easterners" are inherently dangerous people.

On Monday Sarah Sanders claimed she "absolutely" knows there are "Middle Easterners" in the caravan because "we have 10 individuals suspected or known terrorists that try to enter our country illegally every day."

The problem is she was taking the facts completely out of context. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen has recently used this figure as well. But it refers to all attempts by suspected or known terrorists to enter the country... not through a caravan at the southern border.

Cutting off aid

Again the president declared that he will cut off aid to Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador ... and again he's talking about something that's not so simple for him to do. Even if he does find a way to cut off foreign aid that Congress has already approved (which already Democrats are vowing to fight), he would likely face objections within his own party.

A breakdown of the roughly $150 million in aid to each country shows that aid is used to fight the problems many of these people are fleeing: like drugs, poverty, and corruption. And it's not clear anyone in his administration is on board yet. The State Department hasn't offered any specific plans. ............................