Donald Trump always knew his "big, beautiful" border wall would have a whopper of price tag, so he sold voters on a whopper of lie that's already dead: Mexico would pay for it.
Now that $20- to $50-billion price tag is giving many Republican lawmakers heartburn even as Trump insists that construction of his wall is "way, way, way ahead of schedule." Politico writes:
Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told constituents during a telephone town hall Wednesday that “billions of dollars on a wall is not the right way to proceed” to secure the border, according to audio obtained by POLITICO on Thursday. [...]
"We shouldn't just build a wall and add billions of dollars because that's what somebody said should be done," Gardner said. [...]
In an interview with POLITICO Thursday, Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford echoed Gardner's concerns about whether the wall is worth the the billions it's estimated to cost. [...]
"We can’t pay for it out of thin air. We must keep the massive federal debt in mind as we have these policy discussions about protecting our nation."
In some ways, Trump's stepped on his own rationale for the wall—his new policies have made the U.S. so unpopular that illegal southern border crossings decreased by 40 percent from January to February, according U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
But White House press secretary Sean Spicer insisted this week that Trump would keep his promise, which he said was part of Trump’s appeal to voters.
“I think one of the things that the American people, regardless of where they stand across the aisle, appreciate about this president is he’s a man that has kept his word,” he said.
Apparently Trump’s “word” doesn't apply to his pledge that Mexico—not American taxpayers—would foot the bill. In fact, the notion of that promise made Mitch McConnell snicker this week.
“Do you believe that Mexico will pay for it?” POLITICO Playbook’s Jake Sherman asked the Kentucky Republican on Thursday morning. “Uh, no,” he shot back, chuckling.
Isn’t that perfect? McConnell—who has said he supports building the wall—laughing at the fact that taxpayers are on the hook for Trump’s boondoggle.