Trump Administration Now Claims Border Wall “Will Pay For Itself”

Stephen Miller Also Doubles Down On Trump’s False Claims About Voter Fraud

During his campaign, President Donald Trump said Mexico would pay for his proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall. 

After his election victory, Trump quickly backtracked, saying American taxpayers would fund construction of the wall, but Mexico would reimburse the U.S. for the cost. Later, Trump’s administration suggested that the U.S. would pay for the wall by imposing a 20 percent tariff on Mexican goods, which would merely pass the cost along to American consumers. 

Now, the administration claims the wall will actually pay for itself. Appearing on ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday, White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller responded to reports that the Department of Homeland Security now estimates the wall would cost up to $21.6 billion, almost double the figure of $12 billion Trump used during his campaign.

“Stopping new illegal immigration, preventing the effects that will have on our schools, on our hospitals, on our welfare system, on our wage earners, will save taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars,” Miller said. “This wall will pay for itself many, many many times over. And it’s just astonishing to me that the media is so interested in how much it costs to secure our border, and has no interest in the cost of refusing to secure our border.” 

On Saturday, Trump wrote on Twitter that he will bring the cost of the border wall “WAY DOWN” by negotiating. 

Also on Sunday, Miller doubled down on Trump’s false claims about alleged voter fraud. Watch that clip below.