WATCH: Trump Insists Mexico Will Pay for His Wall, Says President Peña Nieto ‘Has To’ Say He Won’t
President Trump Says Wall Construction Will Begin ‘In Months’
In his first sit-down interview as president, Donald Trump says he will build the wall on America’s southern border as he promised, and insists that Mexico will pay for it in full. Construction, he says, will begin in a matter of months. All of those claims currently seem impossible.
Negotiations, Trump tells ABC News anchor David Muir, with Mexico will begin shortly. But according to Trump, U.S. taxpayers will have to front the cash.
“All it is, is we’ll be reimbursed at a later date from whatever transaction we make from Mexico,” Trump said. “I’m just telling you there will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form. What I’m doing is good for the United States. It’s also going to be good for Mexico. We want to have a very stable, very solid Mexico.”
Trump, as usual, lied about the details.Â
“Ultimately, it will come out of what’s happening with Mexico … and we will be in a form reimbursed by Mexico, which I’ve always said,” Trump said.
When he began talking about his wall, he insisted Mexico would pay for it. It wasn’t until late October that Trump started to say Mexico would reimburse America for the costs of the wall.Â
Muir reminded Trump that Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto has absolutely and repeatedly refused to pay for the wall. Trump suggested that Peña Nieto is just playing politics.Â
“He has to say that,” Trump claimed.Â
Trump has little if any leverage to force Mexico to pay for his wall, and constructing it legally requires an act of Congress, along with tens of billions of dollars in funds, along with incredibly complex plans and dealings with local and state governments.
Watch:
President Trump tells @ABC News: Mexico will “absolutely†reimburse U.S. for border wall. https://t.co/MgcLG1hJH0 pic.twitter.com/NlxLs4N6SF
— ABC News (@ABC) January 25, 2017
 ABC News will air “President Trump: The First Interview” with David Muir tonight at 10 PM EST.
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Donald Trump foments violence and hate, is a serial liar, a racist, a misogynist, a supporter of white nationalism, a fascistic bully, an authoritarian thug, a sexual assault and adultery braggart, a hypocrite, a defrauder, and is a danger to civil rights, freedom of the press, and peace around the world.
You can respond directly to Donald Trump by sending your comments to him on Twitter: @realDonaldTrump or @POTUS.
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