Trump pushes back on John Kelly's suggestion that a concrete border wall has been abandoned

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 31 December 2018

President Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly are spending their final days together publicly fighting over the wall.

Kelly said in a surprisingly candid exit interview with the Los Angeles Times Sunday that Trump's promise to build a solid wall along the southern border was abandoned long ago, saying, "we left a solid concrete wall early on in the administration, when we asked people what they needed and where they needed it." He also said, "to be honest, it's not a wall" and that a physical barrier would only be needed in some places.

But Trump immediately pushed back on this statement Monday morning, writing "An all concrete Wall was NEVER ABANDONED, as has been reported by the media." He didn't mention Kelly by name, but the very idea he was pushing back on originated with his chief of staff. Kelly, who argued to the Los Angeles Times that his tenure at the White House should be judged as much by what Trump didn't do as what he did, will depart the Trump administration later this week. Brendan Morrow

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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