Trump wants a 'matte black' border wall topped with steel spikes
President Trump wants a border wall, and he wants it painted black.
Channeling his inner Lil Nas X, Trump had a section of border wall painted "matte black" in June, and he reportedly wants to continue the trend along another 175 miles of fencing. It'll cost an additional $70–133 million to make that happen, and it's far from the only specific demand Trump has for his long-awaited border wall, The Washington Post reports.
The 2020 presidential race is heating up, but Trump has yet to deliver on his 2016 promise to build a wall across the southern border of the U.S. So in an attempt to complete 500 miles of the wall in the next year, Defense Secretary Mark Esper is expected to let the White House use $3.6 billion in department funding originally slated for other projects, administration officials tell the Post.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Yet even in this rush, Trump hasn't let his aesthetic demands fall by the wayside. One mile of the wall was painted matte black so it would be more hot and slippery to ward off climbers, and Trump is demanding it all be painted the same color, border agents tell the Post. And even though the top of that current one-mile span is covered with smooth metal plates, Trump wants those "unsightly" climbing deterrents removed in favor of spiked steel toppers, officials continue. Trump also wants to implement eminent domain laws to seize land from owners along the border unwilling to sell, though an administration official said they'd rather negotiate with landowners and pay them a "fair market value" instead.
Read more about how Trump is co-opting Mordor's aesthetics at The Washington Post.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
Today's political cartoons - October 13, 2024
Sunday's cartoons - the swing of things, fear of facts, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 timely cartoons about climate change denial
Cartoons Artists take on textbook trouble, bizarre beliefs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Kris Kristofferson: the free-spirited country music star who studied at Oxford
In the Spotlight The songwriter, singer and film-star has died aged 88
By The Week UK Published
-
The life and times of Kamala Harris
The Explainer The vice-president is narrowly leading the race to become the next US president. How did she get to where she is now?
By The Week UK Published
-
Arizona kicks off swing-state early voting
Speed Read The voting began with less than a month to go before the presidential election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Netanyahu talk ahead of Israeli hit on Iran
Speed Read The pair spoke for the first time since August
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump kept up with Putin, sent Covid tests, book says
Speed Read The revelation comes courtesy of a new book by Bob Woodward
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Liz Cheney campaigns with Harris in Wisconsin
Speed Read The pair does not agree on much politically, but they share an anti-Trump stance
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Harris visit storm-hit North Carolina, Georgia
Speed Read President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris took separate tours of the south to view the catastrophic damage from Hurricane Helene
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Jack Smith filing details Jan. 6 case against Trump
Speed Read The special counsel's newly unsealed brief argues Trump is not immune from prosecution and gives new details on his efforts to overturn the election
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will 'weirdly civil' VP debate move dial in US election?
Today's Big Question 'Diametrically opposed' candidates showed 'a lot of commonality' on some issues, but offered competing visions for America's future and democracy
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published