Question 1: How much will it cost us? Trump & Company says the price tag is $5.7 billion. But—pssssst—that only buys a starter wall of 230 miles, covering barely a tenth of our 2,000-mile Mexican border.
The dirty little secret is that the full barricade Trump wants will cost us at least $25 billion. For something that isn’t needed and won’t work.
Question 2: By shutting down the government of the United States in a petulant attempt to make Congress pony up his wall money, didn’t he hurt families who come to tour the capital city, hoping to visit national monuments and museums, only to find them closed?
Yes, but—pssssst—there was one exception. The “clock tower” of the historic, 1899 Old Post Office Building got a special reprieve to remain open to tourists throughout the presidential shutdown.
Why? Because one of Donald Trump’s luxury hotels is in that building, so closing the clock tower would have been… well, bad for his business. Indeed, even the tower’s souvenir shop remained open, so tourists could stock up on Trump chocolates, hoodies, and other merchandise.
Question 3: Trump said that he’s an expert on Mexican border issues, because he’s been there “numerous times.” But—psssst—he’s been there twice.
Still, in January, the “expert” pointed to San Antonio as proof positive that “walls work,” asserting that San Antonio is now “one of the safest cities,” thank to its border wall. Psssst, again—San Antonio is 150 miles from the Mexican border, so it has no wall. Just in case, though, some sassy San Antonians have organized a search party, and are demanding to know where it is and “who paid for it.”
It’s time to move Trump to his Mar-a-Largo golf resort in Florida—and build a beautiful, impenetrable wall around him.
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OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also the editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown. Distributed by OtherWords.org.
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Build that wall (around Mar-a-Largo)
Posted on February 6, 2019 by Jim Hightower
Time for a pop quiz on Trump’s Wall.
Question 1: How much will it cost us? Trump & Company says the price tag is $5.7 billion. But—pssssst—that only buys a starter wall of 230 miles, covering barely a tenth of our 2,000-mile Mexican border.
The dirty little secret is that the full barricade Trump wants will cost us at least $25 billion. For something that isn’t needed and won’t work.
Question 2: By shutting down the government of the United States in a petulant attempt to make Congress pony up his wall money, didn’t he hurt families who come to tour the capital city, hoping to visit national monuments and museums, only to find them closed?
Yes, but—pssssst—there was one exception. The “clock tower” of the historic, 1899 Old Post Office Building got a special reprieve to remain open to tourists throughout the presidential shutdown.
Why? Because one of Donald Trump’s luxury hotels is in that building, so closing the clock tower would have been… well, bad for his business. Indeed, even the tower’s souvenir shop remained open, so tourists could stock up on Trump chocolates, hoodies, and other merchandise.
Question 3: Trump said that he’s an expert on Mexican border issues, because he’s been there “numerous times.” But—psssst—he’s been there twice.
Still, in January, the “expert” pointed to San Antonio as proof positive that “walls work,” asserting that San Antonio is now “one of the safest cities,” thank to its border wall. Psssst, again—San Antonio is 150 miles from the Mexican border, so it has no wall. Just in case, though, some sassy San Antonians have organized a search party, and are demanding to know where it is and “who paid for it.”
It’s time to move Trump to his Mar-a-Largo golf resort in Florida—and build a beautiful, impenetrable wall around him.
OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He’s also the editor of the populist newsletter, The Hightower Lowdown. Distributed by OtherWords.org.