White House Chief of Staff John Kelly messed up Wednesday. Speaking in front of a crowd of Hispanic lawmakers, Kelly called the president uninformed” regarding immigration concerns. He tried to correct his mistake a few hours later with an appearance on Fox News but the damage was already done.
Kelly told Fox News that President Trump’s views had changed since the election. “He has evolved in the way he’s looked at things,” Kelly said. “Campaign to governing are two different things, and this president has been very, very flexible in terms of what is within the realm of the possible.”
On Thursday, an irate Trump responded:”The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it. Parts will be, of necessity, see through and it was never intended to be built in areas where there is natural protection such as mountains, wastelands or tough rivers or water.”
Kelly irked Trump supporters by suggesting both that the wall wouldn’t stretch across the entire southern border and that Mexico wouldn’t be footing the bill.
Trump disagrees. Geography prohibits the wall’s construction in some areas, but he hasn’t given up on forcing Mexico to help pay for it.
“The Wall will be paid for, directly or indirectly, or through longer-term reimbursement, by Mexico, which has a ridiculous $71 billion dollar trade surplus with the U.S.,” Trump said on Twitter.
Building the wall was one of Trump’s most popular campaign promises. He’s committed to seeing it through.
(Source: Business Insider, Yahoo News)