Trump says he will bring down the price of wall on Mexico's border

by Diane Bartz

 

U.S. President Donald Trump listens to a translation during a joint news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump pushed back early on Saturday on assertions that the wall he wants built on the U.S. border with Mexico would cost more than anticipated and said he would reduce the price.

Trump made his comments in two Twitter posts but did not say how he would bring down the cost of the wall.

Reuters on Thursday published details of an internal report by the Department of Homeland Security that estimated the price of a wall along the entire border at $21.6 billion. During his presidential campaign Trump had cited a $12 billion figure.

"I am reading that the great border WALL will cost more than the government originally thought, but I have not gotten involved in the ... design or negotiations yet," Trump tweeted from his Florida resort, where he is hosting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

"When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!"

Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, said in late January that his administration had been able to cut some $600 million from a deal to buy about 90 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from Lockheed Martin. Defense analysts and sources downplayed news of those cuts, saying the discount hailed by Trump was in line with what had been flagged by Lockheed for months and would apply to other countries committed to the program.

A border wall to stem illegal immigration was one of Trump's main campaign promises. He has vowed to make Mexico reimburse the United States for its cost but Mexico has repeatedly said it will not do so.

Trump also tweeted on Saturday about another aspect of his immigration policy - the legal battle over the presidential order banning entry to the United States by refugees and citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.

"Our legal system is broken! '77% of refugees allowed into U.S. since travel reprieve hail from seven suspect countries.' (WT) SO DANGEROUS!" he said.

The tweet was in apparent reaction to a Washington Times story saying 77 percent of the 1,100 refugees who have entered the United States since Feb. 3 are from the countries covered by Trump's ban.

A federal judge in Seattle blocked Trump's executive order on Feb. 3, lifting the ban while litigation proceeds. Trump has been steadily critical of the ruling from Seattle and a subsequent appeals court ruling upholding it.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-12

Costs down, Chinese steel perhaps?

Maybe he'll use illegal labor like he's done before? LOL

 

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/08/30/donald_trump_s_history_of_using_undocumented_immigrant_labors.html

Quote

A Few Times Donald Trump Has Allegedly Profited From Illegal Immigration

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/20/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correctly-claims-trump-tower-was-p/

 

http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/jul/27/michael-bloomberg/michael-bloomberg-donald-trump-visa-sys/

 

So much for making America great again.

Pre-fab it in Jaina?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

Why bother to reduce the cost of the wall?

After all, Mexico will pay for the wall anyway ... right?

Maybe he's planning to have Mexicans build the wall too.

Edited February 12, 20179 yr by Gecko123

4 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Maybe he's planning to have Mexicans build the wall too.

Maybe he is planning to just do his job.

3 minutes ago, Bulldozer Dawn said:

Maybe he is planning to just do his job.

Didn't know that the Constitution listed building a wall between the USA and Mexico as part of the Presidency's job description.

Didn't know that the Constitution listed building a wall between the USA and Mexico as part of the Presidency's job description.

I thought national security was part of the job description, no?

The illegal immigrants are Mexican, perhaps he will round them up and put them to work building the wall.In effect Mexico would then be paying and building there own wall all President Trump has to do is supply the materials and machinery lol

 

14 minutes ago, Bulldozer Dawn said:

Maybe he is planning to just do his job.

 

No doubt, like hawking 'Ivanka's stuff' from the oval office.

 

Speak softly and carry a big stick, Ok, so Trump doesn't speak softly, but his

stick is big enough to show all those that took America for a joke the last 8 years

that he means business..... And about time too....

7 minutes ago, pokerface1 said:

The illegal immigrants are Mexican, perhaps he will round them up and put them to work building the wall.In effect Mexico would then be paying and building there own wall all President Trump has to do is supply the materials and machinery lol

 

Im sure he has all the materials and machinery lined up already to make a healthy profit on that.

Maybe he'll use illegal labor like he's done before? LOL
 
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/08/30/donald_trump_s_history_of_using_undocumented_immigrant_labors.html

A Few Times Donald Trump Has Allegedly Profited From Illegal Immigration

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/20/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correctly-claims-trump-tower-was-p/
 
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/jul/27/michael-bloomberg/michael-bloomberg-donald-trump-visa-sys/
 
So much for making America great again.


So one story is about a contractor he hired and the other is about his using legal workers.

That all you got? Weak.

4 minutes ago, ezzra said:

 

Speak softly and carry a big stick, Ok, so Trump doesn't speak softly, but his

stick is big enough to show all those that took America for a joke the last 8 years

that he means business..... And about time too....

Those who made America a joke for the last 8 years were politicians from both sides of the isle.  Doesn't seem much is changing now.  Just getting worse.

2 minutes ago, mogandave said:

http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/oct/20/hillary-clinton/hillary-clinton-correctly-claims-trump-tower-was-p/
 
http://www.politifact.com/florida/statements/2016/jul/27/michael-bloomberg/michael-bloomberg-donald-trump-visa-sys/
 
So much for making America great again.


So one story is about a contractor he hired and the other is about his using legal workers.

That all you got? Weak.
 

You conveniently left out this one.  Many more like it on the internet.  Just shows that Trump is all hot air.  Doesn't even practice what he preaches.

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/08/30/donald_trump_s_history_of_using_undocumented_immigrant_labors.html

 

Even if it was a contractor, he knew and should have dealt with it.  Heck, even his clothing line is made in China!  Absolute hypocrisy.

Why does he care about the price? Mexico will pay for it.

53 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

Maybe he's planning to have Mexicans build the wall too.

5555, yeah, that would be too easy.  Subcontract to a S. Korean company, use illegal immigrants as labor, and source material from China.  But why go through all the trouble?  Just build an imaginary wall and get Sean Spicer to lie about it.  "The wall is there!  Can't you see it??  The liberal press is so biased!"

Why should he, the Mexican's are paying for it, or not?

His buddies or relations will get the contract and they will hire cheap Mexican labour to build it.

1 hour ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Costs down, Chinese steel perhaps?

        All Trump's projects use Chinese steel.  And involve big loans from Chinese banks. Can he be objective when dealing with China?  No.  Already, he flip flopped on the "One China" issue.  Russia has Trump by the balls, and so does China and Saudi Arabia.  What other countries?  That's the prime reason Trump will fight tooth and nail to avoid releasing tax returns.

 

        As for Trump's Wall:  his estimates of costs rose month by month during the campaign.  Started about $5 million and went up to $12.  Any experienced and honest building contractor will tell you it will cost between 24 and 40 million, and that doesn't include maintenance, which will (in 10 years) add up to much more than the cost of the wall.   It also doesn't include costs of roads and factories which will be needed to build the damn thing.

 

       It actually won't be a wall in the way Trump describes it.  It will be a tall fence, and that's ok, because it serves the same purpose, but costs less and allows air to blow through.   

 

       There are mega-problems which would need to be addressed, not least:  crossing federal lands, National Parks, crossing Indian territory (and possibly some areas where their ancestors are buried), and there are areas of private property, particularly along the Rio Grande, where landowners don't want a wall.   Indeed, counties in southern Texas voted overwhelmingly for HRC.  Trump is very unpopular there.

 

Edited February 12, 20179 yr by boomerangutang

Seizing privately-held land should go over well.

 

Maybe he'll get Mexico to pay rent too?

 

 

 

 

You conveniently left out this one.  Many more like it on the internet.  Just shows that Trump is all hot air.  Doesn't even practice what he preaches.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/08/30/donald_trump_s_history_of_using_undocumented_immigrant_labors.html
 
Even if it was a contractor, he knew and should have dealt with it.  Heck, even his clothing line is made in China!  Absolute hypocrisy.

That one takes advantage of something they oppose, does not make them a hypocrite.

I believe a politician should do what's best for their constituents, regardless of their actions, their past or their beliefs.

You don't?

1 hour ago, mogandave said:

 

That one takes advantage of something they oppose, does not make them a hypocrite.

I believe a politician should do what's best for their constituents, regardless of their actions, their past or their beliefs.

You don't?

Wasn't one of his big campaign promises to bring jobs back to the US?  While all the time he's been using foreign, and illegal, labor.  I'd call that a hypocrite.  If he's such a good businessman, he could have figured out a way to only use American labor.  Not really that hard to do.

2 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

His buddies or relations will get the contract and they will hire cheap Mexican labour to build it.

One of his buddies already turned him down.  A wealthy builder who's from a foreign country.  His reply to Trump: "what side of the wall will you have me on?". LOL

4 hours ago, rooster59 said:

"When I do, just like with the F-35 FighterJet or the Air Force One Program, price will come WAY DOWN!"

More fake news. Trump had no role in the price adjustment for the F-35 that had been under negotiation as per provisions of the purchase contract for over a year before Trump even received his party's nomination for POTUS. Thank the Department of Defense under POTUS Obama for negotiating that contract that didn't let the supplier make an excessive profit.

4 hours ago, pokerface1 said:

The illegal immigrants are Mexican, perhaps he will round them up and put them to work building the wall.In effect Mexico would then be paying and building there own wall all President Trump has to do is supply the materials and machinery lol

 

I think slavery has been abolished in USA. At least on the books.

4 minutes ago, whaleboneman said:

I think slavery has been abolished in USA. At least on the books.

I think Jefferson Sessions is working on reversing that.

He'll try to do what he did at Mer-e-Largo and two of his casinos: sign contracts for services to be performed, then when the payment is due, offer 33% as payment in full, and threaten to tie up the contractors in court for years if they don't accept.

 

Unfortunately for Trump, the GSA will be in charge of contracting and payments, not him.

 

I suspect even the 25 billion figure is low, as they will learn once they get into land acquisition