CNN reporter Kaitlin Collins hit President Donald Trump hard with some pointed questions about his border wall Friday and he dished out as good as he got.
Collins wanted to know why Trump needs American taxpayer dollars for a wall he has always said Mexico would pay for it. She also asked what happened to the concrete wall which he seems to be waffling about.
As Collins began her questions, Trump responded with irritation: “Oh here we go again.” Then he sarcastically said the questions were asked “so beautifully.”
He claimed again that supposed savings from the new North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico would pay for the wall. But the agreement has not yet been ratified by Congress, nor has the White House demonstrated that any savings could begin to cover the cost. Also, mechanics for using any savings on the wall remain a mystery.
As for the concrete wall that Trump has repeatedly pushed, that’s apparently off the table — again.
“I never said, ’I’m going to build a concrete ...,” Trump insisted (he has). A steel slat fence is the way to go because “steel is stronger than concrete,” he told Collins. That’s something she wouldn’t “understand” because “I know you’re not into the construction business.”
Trump said as recently as Monday that his ideas for a “concrete wall” had not been abandoned by his administration, which contradicted what former White House chief of staff John Kelly had said in a newspaper interview.
Check out the face-off in the video above.
