Where Does Trumps Border Wall Stand TodayNYT News

I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls
better than me, believe me. And Ill build them
very inexpensively. This was President Trumps
campaign announcement in June of 2015. Since then,
President Trumps efforts to build his
long-touted wall have run into
political realities.

He doesnt have the funding, and he couldnt
reach a compromise. Look, I made it so,
so clear to the president that there is not going
to be a wall. And his voter base is
beginning to take notice. Right now, if I were
a betting woman, I dont think were
getting a wall.

So Trump instead has tried
to use a series of distractions to get around the fact that his border barrier
is running behind. President Trump had
eight wall prototypes built near the border. But thats where
construction has stalled. These monoliths stand
as a $20 million testament to his ambitions,
but not much more.

President Trump has repeatedly
stated that construction is already under way for the wall. We need the wall. Weve started building the wall. Were going to have the wall.

Weve already
started building it. We started building our wall. Im so proud of it. But its almost entirely
routine maintenance being done on existing
sections of the wall, plus 33 miles of new fencing.

When efforts to fund
the wall failed, President Trump said he wanted
the National Guard deployed, a move he said was significant. Until we can have a
wall and proper security, were going to be guarding
our border with the military. Thats a big step. We really havent done
that before, or certainly not very much before.

But this is not a dramatic move. Both President Obama
and President Bush did the same
during their terms. Trump suggested
the military could pay for the wall with
part of their budget, a proposal with few backers. We cant rob money and resources from the military that
so desperately needs them at a time of growing
international crisis.

President Trump said he
was willing to compromise for wall funding in the
2018 budget bill in exchange for protecting young
undocumented immigrants known as DACA recipients. The Democrats would not do it. But in reality, Trump was the one
who ended the DACA program in the first place. Trump has tried various ways
of getting Mexico to pay, including a border tax
on Mexican goods or through renegotiations of the North American
Free Trade Agreement, also known as Nafta.

But Mexico has
yet to pay a dime. Isnt it true at this
point that Mexico is just not going to pay
for that wall? Im not going to go beyond what
the presidents already said. I think he still has
plans to look at potential ways
for that to happen. But this kind of
hedging is a far cry from Trumps
original promise.

I will have Mexico
pay for that wall. Mark my words..