Trump Admits Border Wall Will Cost More Than Expected (TWEETS, VIDEO)

By
Kim Henry
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Donald Trump’s Great Border Wall

The evolution of Donald Trump’s “great border wall” campaign promise is an interesting tale.

The first step towards making good on this campaign promise occurred on January 25, 2017, when Trump signed an Executive Order to start “immediate construction” of the wall.

 

Paying For The Wall

Reuters reports that the wall will cost as much as $21.6 billion to construct, a price tag that is much higher than the $12 billion figure quoted by Trump during his campaign. During his campaign, Trump also promised that Mexico would pay for the wall. As a matter of fact, Trump declared that Mexico would pay for the wall “100%”:

Now that the government is actually preparing to start construction on the wall, the story has changed. U.S. taxpayers will be paying for the wall now, and Mexico will pay the U.S. back later. Trump said:

“We’ll be reimbursed at a later date from whatever transaction we make from Mexico. I’m just telling you there will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gG71SYHbr0

In response, Mexican president Enrique Nieto reaffirmed Mexico’s stance on the issue:

“I have said time and again, Mexico will not pay for any wall.”

Fact Check Time!

https://youtu.be/BP17ot9fOmY

It’s true that the border wall will cost an estimated $9.6 billion more than Trump originally said it would. The rest of Trump’s tweet is not true nor is it reassuring. Trump claimed that he was instrumental in negotiating down the price of the F-35 fighter jet:

“I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35.”

In reality, the government and Lockheed Martin have been working toward reducing costs for years. Before Trump ever met with Lockheed, the pentagon had already announced the cost savings. Trump simply took credit for it.

Featured image via Mr.Owl.

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