President Donald Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago that he’s been forced to shut down the border between the United States and Mexico, but then denied he had done so just seconds later.
As part of an informal chat with reporters, Trump declared:
“Actually two days ago we closed the border. We actually just closed it. We said nobody’s coming in because it was out of control.”
Seconds later, however, the president said he might close the border in the future “if we find that it gets to a level where we are going to lose control.”
Trump did another 180 degree turn a few minutes later, once more maintaining that the border was sealed:
“I’ve already shut it down, I’ve already shut it down — for short periods.
“I’ve already shut down parts of the border because it was out of control with the rioting on the other side in Mexico. And I just said, ‘Shut it down.’ You see it. I mean, it took place two days ago.”
When a reporter asked the president if such a move required him to sign an executive order, Trump responded:
“Yeah, they call me up and I sign an order.”
Another reporter asked if they could get a copy of the order Trump had signed. The president replied:
“You don’t need it. Don’t worry. It’s not that big a deal. Maybe to some people it is.”
Also during the exchange with reporters, Trump seemed to criticize the trade pact he recently signed with Mexico and hailed as a great victory for the U.S.:
“Mexico will not be able to sell their cars into the United States where they make so many cars at great benefit to them, not at great benefit to us.”
We’ve long known that Donald Trump isn’t exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer, but when the leader of the free world cannot even recall whether or not he’s closed the southern border, it should concern every American.
Here’s video of the exchange with reporters, which begins at the 16:00 mark:
Featured Image Via Screenshot
