"It's a simple calculation. Fear is a more potent weapon than hope"

Here's a transcript of Thursday night's Jon Sopel report on BBC One's News at Ten, as discussed on an earlier thread. 

Is it reporting? Is it editorialising? (Are these merely rhetorical questions?)

Jon Sopel: It feels as though America is going on to a war footing. Thousands of troops are being mobilised. Destination - the southern border. The enemy - men, women and children winding their way up through Mexico. 15,000 soldiers are being deployed to stop immigrants on foot from entering the United States - illegally, says the President. And with five days to go until crucial congressional elections, this issue has taken on a deeply political hue.

Donald Trump: At this very moment, large well-organised caravans of migrants are marching towards our southern border. Some people call it an invasion. It's like an invasion. They have violently overrun the Mexican border. You saw that two days ago. These are tough people in many cases. A lot of young men, strong men, and a lot of men that maybe we don't want in our country. But, again, we'll find that out through the legal process. 

There have been allegations from the President and his surrogates that this straggling caravan of people from Central America have members of Islamic State among them, that they're violent criminals, that they're carrying diseases which will infect other Americans. No evidence of any of these things has been provided. But the overriding narrative, be very, very afraid, this is an invasion. And Donald Trump has put out this video which his opponents say is racist, with its implication that all immigrants, like the central character in this ad, are criminals.

(Clip of advert)

The ad has brought a chorus of criticism, much of it from prominent Republicans. But fear of immigration among many Americans is real and the President is tapping into that.

Donald Trump: Democrats want open borders and they want to invite caravan after caravan into our country which brings crime upon crime. 

Donald Trump is spending next to no time at the White House at the moment. He's on the road attending rallies every day between now and the midterms. He's got a positive message to tell on the economy. But among his supporters it's nothing like as effective as his message on immigration. It's a simple calculation. Fear is a more potent weapon than hope. Jon Sopel, BBC News, Washington.