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Donald Trump used a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö to discuss the most pressing matters between the United States and Finland, like … his immoral and racist border wall along our southern border. Trump again threatened a government shutdown unless Congress funds his monument to hate, saying “I hope that’s not necessary. If it’s necessary, we’ll have to see.” But don’t feel left out, Mexico, because despite your recent humanitarian pledge to help Texas as Harvey leaves behind a path of destruction, he’s still somehow insisting you’ll get stuck with a bill:
“One way or the other Mexico is going to pay for the wall,” Trump said Monday at a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
What that method is remains just as hazy as it was during Trump’s 17-month presidential campaign. At times his aides suggested Mexico would pay for it through new tariffs or with a tax on remittances sent back to Mexico. But for the most part, Trump just promised his crowds that he would build a wall along the southern border and force Mexico to pay for it, often engaging them in a call and response: “Who’s going to pay for the wall?” he would ask, with the audience screaming back: “Mexico!”
Yet seven days after taking office, Trump told Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto that he understood that Mexico wouldn’t actually pay for the wall, but asked Peña not to say that publicly because it would cause political problems for Trump with his supporters.
Mexico has reiterated that it “will not pay, under any circumstances, [for] a wall or physical barrier built on US territory along the Mexican border,” but did offer to assist in Harvey recovery efforts “as good neighbors should always do in times of difficulty,” and as Mexico did during Hurricane Katrina. According to the Independent, the Trump administration has yet to accept the Mexican government’s offer. Aside from being a dick, MSNBC reports Trump may be sabotaging himself yet again: “Trump is setting himself up for a major budget showdown: will Trump veto a budget that includes Hurricane Harvey disaster relief but doesn't fund his wall with Mexico?”
He’s already made clear prioritizing his agenda of hate supersedes the needs of Americans: 120,000 immigrant youth in Texas stand to lose their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protections if he goes through with his white supremacist-led plan to revoke the program.