Former president Barack Obama on Friday decried as a "political stunt" Donald Trump's plan to send thousands of US soldiers to the Mexican border to block migrants from entering the country.
In a rousing speech to a Miami crowd as he campaigned for fellow Democrats ahead of next week's midterm elections, Obama said the Republican administration was "even taking our brave troops away from their families for a political stunt at the border."
Trump, who has placed immigration at the heart of his party's election effort, has persistently attacked the caravan of Central American migrants, denouncing it !
Trump announced earlier this week that he would send thousands of troops to the border to beef up national defenses at the border.
Obama said the deployment was serving to "get folks angry and ginned up," adding: "There's just constant fearmongering to distract from the record."
"If you don't like what's going on right now, don't just complain," Obama said.
“Don't get anxious and freaked out, don't throw up your hands in despair. Don't boo. Don't hashtag. Vote!"
Americans on Tuesday will elect lawmakers for all 435 seats in the House of Representatives, 35 seats in the 100-member Senate, 36 governors and dozens of state legislatures.