Trump Reportedly Has a Plan for a Very Intimidating Border Wall
As plans are finalized for President Donald Trump’s long-awaited border wall, reports indicate the president has been very intentional about his vision for the project.
With Trump’s initial proposal for a concrete barrier having now been scrapped in exchange for a steel bollard fence, he now demands that the “slats” be topped with spikes and the wall be painted “flat black.”
According to the Washington Post, Trump says this will make the border wall not only intimidating, but far more effective as well.
Sources told the paper this week that Trump has been adamant in meetings with White House aides, officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the military engineers working on the project.
It is also reported that the president, despite warnings of increased cost and maintenance estimates, is unwilling to budge on the black paint job — which would cause the bollards to retain substantially more heat.
The president suggests the spikes and paint job would make the wall more imposing while also deterring individuals from climbing for fear of burns or large cuts, said various sources not named by the paper.
“Once you paint it, you always have to paint it,” one administration official — who had reportedly argued against those additions to avoid increased costs — said to the Post as an anonymous source.
Others said that recently removed DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had told them Trump’s “acute interest in the barrier’s appearance became a distraction from more pressing border issues.”
The Post could not, however, reach Nielsen to verify these claims.
Trump has also been particular as to the height of the wall, according to the Post, throwing out 15- and 18-foot high proposals previously agreed to by Customs and Border Protection officials and requesting something closer to 30 feet tall.
Engineers have argued against this, however, fearing structural integrity issues that may arise by nearly doubling the height of the structure.
And, per the $1.4-billion deal reached with Democratic legislators in February, spending seems to be limited at the bare minimum for “operationally effective designs.”
In light of these developments, Trump has also received substantial backlash from both supporters and policy experts.
David Lapan, the vice president of communications at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told the Post that he believes Trump should refrain from pushing design plans based on look and style. He fears that too much focus on the look of the wall will result in an ineffective final product.
“Building high-rises in New York City is not the same as putting up a barrier at the border,” Lapan said. “You’re not looking for aesthetics; you’re looking for functionality.”
Meanwhile, longtime supporters of Trump’s original border wall promises feel he has already sacrificed too much to please his opponents.
Ann Coulter, a conservative commentator and strong supporter of the president’s original campaign promise, expressed disappointment with developments about the wall Thursday on Twitter.
Great that Trump wants language proficiency for immigrants. How about language proficiency for presidents?
wall /wôl/ noun
1.a continuous vertical brick or stone structure that encloses or divides an area of land.
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) May 16, 2019
If you become VERY proficient at English, @realDonaldTrump, someday you will understand the meaning of the word “WALL.”
— Ann Coulter (@AnnCoulter) May 16, 2019
“If you become VERY proficient at English, @realDonaldTrump, someday you will understand the meaning of the word ‘WALL,'” Coulter wrote.
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