Donald Trump Demands Aides See Border Wall Built Before Election Day—And He'll Pardon Them If They Break The Law: Report
President Donald Trump is so desperate to see his long-promised border wall built before the 2020 presidential election that he has reportedly promised to pardon aides for any "potential wrongdoing" should they have to break laws in order to get the job done, a new report claims.
According to The Washington Post which cited multiple sources inside the White House who spoke on condition of anonymity, Trump has grown increasingly worried over the slow progress his administration has made on bringing his border wall vision to fruition.
As Newsweek reported on Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency has so far completed just over 13 percent of the construction of the 450 miles of border wall that the Trump administration has vowed to see built by the end of 2020.
The agency announced on Sunday that it had constructed more than 60 miles of "new border wall system" along the southwest border since 2017 and suggested that it was on track to reach its 450 mile goal by the end of 2020. However, that will mean that the agency will have to see roughly 390 more miles of border wall built over the next 16 months if it wants to make good on that promise.
According to the Post, Trump is painfully aware of just how damaging it could be to his campaign if his administration fails to deliver on what was a keystone campaign promise in his 2016 election campaign.
The U.S. leader reportedly warned senior aides that failing to complete the promised portions of the wall before the election would be a major letdown to his supporters, as well as a humiliating defeat.
"He said people expected him to build a wall, and it had to be done by the election," one former official told the newspaper.
After officials suggested that some orders related to the wall's construction would be unfeasible or even illegal, Trump reportedly said: "Don't worry, I'll pardon you," suggesting that he would be willing to pardon aides for any wrongdoing in the bid to see his border wall built.
When officials raised concerns about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain—the government's power to take private property and convert it into public use—the president said they should just "take the land."
Despite pressuring aides to speed up the process of the wall's construction, Trump has not lost focus on the aesthetics of the partition, with the U.S. leader also reportedly demanding that officials ensure the barriers are painted black and topped with sharpened tips.
According to the Post, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are planning to adhere to those demands, with the latter expected to instruct contractors to apply black paint or coating to newly built barriers, in addition to seeing hundreds of miles of fresh border wall built.
