Donald Trump has denied ‘abandoning’ his plan for a concrete border wall, but says that part of the proposed barrier with Mexico will be ‘see-through’.
His tweet came as critics questioned whether the president is reneging on an election pledge to build a wall between the US and Mexico, after outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly said in an interview, “To be honest, it’s not a wall. We left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it.”
Mr Trump spoke out on via Twitter on Monday morning, writing: “An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media.
“Some areas will be all concrete but the experts at Border Patrol prefer a Wall that is see through (thereby making it possible to see what is happening on both sides). Makes sense to me!”
A partial government shutdown is currently under way over funding for his proposed border barrier; the president says he wants $5bn, but Democrats have refused to meet his demands.
The shutdown has stretched into a second week, and there’s no end in sight.
On Sunday, Mr Trump pointed to the wall former President Obama built around his Washington DC home as a reason why Congress should fund the southern border wall.
“President and Mrs Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their DC mansion/compound,” he tweeted. “I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The US needs the same thing, slightly larger version!”
This is Mr Kelly’s final week in the White House after 17 months in the role. He had been widely regarded as one of the few stabilising figures in the Trump administration.
