In an interview last week, former President Donald Trump said that the first executive action he would take if he were president again would be to complete the wall at the southern border.
A report from the The Epoch Times noted that the former president made the remark on EpochTV’s “Kash’s Corner” on Jan. 31. The interview will air in its entirety this week. When asked what he would do if he took office again, Trump said that he would follow through with completing the border wall because it would enhance the nation’s security as well as send an image of strength to other world leaders, such as China’s Xi Jinping.
“First of all, the wall, even for him [Xi Jinping]” Trump answered. “You know why? Because when he sees millions of people pouring into our country, he loses respect for our country.”
“When him and Putin and Kim Jong Un and Iran’s leaders, when they’re watching millions of people walk into our country…they lose respect,” he added.
The Epoch Times noted in their report on Sunday that building the wall was a “Trump signature campaign promise” that was rescinded when Biden took office. Since then, illegal border crossings have spiked astronomically.
“President Joe Biden rescinded or froze dozens of Trump’s border policies upon taking office in January last year. The relaxed policies have led to a flood of illegal aliens crossing the border in volumes unseen for decades.
Border Patrol agents apprehended 1.9 million illegal crossers in 2021, four times as many as were apprehended in 2020 under Trump. The number of unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.–Mexico border reached an all-time high in 2021.
Biden froze the construction of the wall with an executive order issued on the day of his inauguration. Millions of dollars worth of materials have languished in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas since and could now be sold for scrap for pennies on the dollar. The wall’s accompanying roads, cameras, and sensors have remained uninstalled or unfinished.”
“You got to close it [the border] up,” Trump added in the interview. “That would send a big signal, a really big signal.”
“You’ve got to get their respect again,” he continued. “You do that by making sure that they know that this country is here and it’s here to stay and we’re not going to take any nonsense.”
The interview will air in its entirety at 8 p.m. EST on Feb. 7.
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