Longtime Clinton loyalist and Democratic operative James Carville said Monday that the migrant caravan is "the Ebola of 2018."

In recent weeks, news of a large group of Central American migrants pressing into Mexico on their way to the southern border of the U.S. has gripped headlines, particularly in right-leaning media. President Trump has called the caravan, which is still weeks away from getting close to the U.S.-Mexico border, an "invasion," and his administration is poised to send thousands of troops to help prevent migrants from illegally entering the country.

[Trump: Asylum seekers can expect 'tent cities' upon reaching the US]

During a discussion on foreign policy and the 2018 midterm elections in Washington, D.C., Carville said he sees a similar pattern now to the "crisis" that was Ebola in 2014, when the last midterm elections took place.

"The caravan is the Ebola of 2018," Carville said. "And I bet the caravan is out of the news a week from tomorrow."

The midterm elections are on Nov. 6. Carville said he expects foreign policy to be a nonfactor for voters this year.

The Ebola outbreak led to more than 11,000 deaths in West Africa between 2014 and 2016, predominantly in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. Ebola remains a deadly presence in Africa, with a recent outbreak in Congo.