McConnell on Mexico paying for Trump’s wall: ‘Uh, no’
At #PlaybookInterview, @SenateMajLdr says there may be places along the border where a wall is "not the best way" to secure the border pic.twitter.com/SX1FeUNlnj
— POLITICO Live (@POLITICOLive) March 9, 2017
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is dismissing President Trump’s claim that Mexico will pay for a southern border wall.
“Uh, no,” McConnell said during a Playbook Live interview when asked about Trump’s belief that he could get the country to cover the cost.
Trump repeatedly said during his presidential campaign that Mexico will pay for the wall. He tweeted in early January that the wall would be built and the money “paid back by Mexico later.”
But top GOP lawmakers have dismissed the idea for months as unrealistic.
{mosads}McConnell also floated on Thursday that a border wall wasn’t the best option in some places.
“I’m in favor of border security. There are probably some places along the border where that is probably not the best way to secure the border,” he said when asked about a physical wall.
Border-state lawmakers have echoed McConnell’s concerns, arguing that a mixture of fencing, technology and personnel is needed along the border.
McConnell added that he thought Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was a good choice and it’s “my suspicion that [Trump will] take his advice.”
Trump pledged during his speech before a joint session of Congress that the administration would soon start work on a “great, great wall.”
The Department of Homeland Security announced late last month that it would start soliciting ideas to “design and build of several prototype wall structures in the vicinity of the United States border with Mexico” in early March.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
