Posted on 03/13/18
| News Source: SDUT
resident Donald Trump took a firsthand look today at the eight massive border wall prototypes that he had commissioned in San Diego for the “big, beautiful wall” he wants to build along the Southwest border, favoring a mixture of see-through capability topped with rounded concrete to make it impassable by climbers.
“That wall, they can get over very easily,” Trump told a pool of reporters as he pointed to the existing fencing on Otay Mesa, patched in areas where crossers have made holes. “These walls,” he said, indicating the prototypes behind him, “they can’t.”
He repeatedly called the existing fencing “inferior” and warned against the dangers of drugs that were “pouring through in California.”
“If you don’t have a wall system, we’re not going to have a country,” Trump said. “There’s a lot of problems in Mexico, they have the cartels. We’re fighting the cartels, we’re fighting them hard.”
Trump initially stood in the shadow of one of the prototypes and spoke with a small gaggle that included DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and San Diego’s Chief Border Patrol Agent Rodney Scott. Another official frequently gestured to photos in a white binder.
Then he walked around the 30-foot tall prototypes under the watchful eye of several Border Patrol and Secret Service agents.
Even though Trump said he prefers the completely concrete versions of the wall, he said some see-through element is necessary. “You could be two feet from a criminal cartel and not even know they’re there,” he said.
He added later: “When we build we want to build the right thing.”
Trump used today’s visit to call on Congress to fund the wall “and prohibit grants to sanctuary jurisdictions that threaten the security of our country and the people of our country.” His administration has requested $18 billion that would build about 300 miles of new barrier where none exist and would replace older sections of fencing.
As he departed the border site, law enforcement officers, some in riot gear, lined his motorcade route, along with people hoping to catch a glimpse of the president. Many cheered as the black cars drove past.
The wall tour lasted about 50 minutes, from his 12:20 p.m. arrival to his 1:10 p.m. departure back to Brown Field Municipal Airport, where he will board Marine One and chopper back to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. At the base, military personnel are gathering to hear his remarks at 2 p.m....read more at SDUT