By now, you have likely heard various reports of a 'migrant caravan' on its way to the United States. Depending on who is reporting, the estimates have varied from around 3,500 to 7,000, with some claiming that the group have little intention of entering the States, while others claim its their only ambition.
Regardless of the reality of the issue, it has become a topic focused on by politicians on both sides of the debate in the run-up to the midterm elections this November. Donald Trump has threatened to close the U.S.-Mexico border and even slash aid to Central America after hearing of it, while making the unsubstantiated claims that there are "criminals" and people from the Middle East within these crowds.
"Criminals and unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in. I have alerted Border Patrol and Military that this is a National Emergy [sic]. Must change laws!" he tweeted. "You’re gonna find MS-13, you’re gonna find Middle Eastern, you’re going to find everything," Trump said. "And guess what? We’re not allowing them in our country. We want safety."
"It's inconceivable that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people," Vice President Mike Pence told The Washington Post after this statement made the rounds, backing up the president in his claims.
Fox News pundits and their guests have been giving stark warnings about the impending 'caravan', as well as various claims that on which some doubt has been cast. For instance, one Fox News guest posited that people in the caravan may have leprosy, despite having no evidence to back up this significant claim. However, one Fox News host has a different view on the matter.
Anchor Shepard Smith broke from the vast majority of his co-worker's opinions on the matter this week, claiming that the hysteria around this 'caravan' is baseless.
"There is no invasion. No one is coming to get you. There is nothing at all to worry about," he said during his show this Monday.
According to Smith, the caravan is at least two months from reaching the southern border, if they even decided to go there. It's his opinion that the heated debate about this issue is only present because of the quickly approaching elections on November 6. The anchor said:
"Tomorrow, the migrants, according to Fox News reporting, are almost two months away, if any of them actually come here. But tomorrow is one week before the midterm election, which is what all of this is about."
This isn't exactly the first time that Smith has deviated from the rest of Fox News. In June, he accused the Trump administration of "lying" about a meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian Lawyer. Similarly, in November last year, he debunked a conspiracy theory that fellow host Sean Hannity pushed forward, suggesting a link between Hillary Clinton and a Russian energy company.
Smith also pointed out that there was a huge conversation about a similar caravan earlier this year, but when it eventually arrived, it wasn't nearly as deadly as we were led to believe by some commentators. "When they did this to us - got us all riled up in April, remember? - the result was 14 arrests," he said. "We're America. We can handle it."
