CRITICS CALL THE BORDER WALL A WASTEFUL MONUMENT TO TRUMP’S VANITY

…A number of the many possible examples of Trump’s Border Wall

Now Trump demands a painted “black wall” to make the wall too hot in the Summer for climbers to scale.

Trump continues to summon the head of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Todd T. Semonite, to impart his latest views on the southern barrier’s properties.  He gets so involved in the walls design that he was known for awakening the former HSA Secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, just to discuss the project in early mornings, officials said.

You might notice the wall in the picture above with the “barrel like” design on the top of the wall.  A metal cylinder at the top of a 30-foot wall would definitely prevent anyone from climbing over.  But the president doesn’t like the way it looks, and he argues that sharp spikes that would cut a climber’s hands would be more intimidating.

So, just as Trump got involved with the kind of marble and brass that was used in the Trump Tower, and with the kinds of floors built in the tower apartments and even with the kitchen finishes, Trump today is that involved with “The Wall”.

Yes, the president sees himself as “a builder,” said David Lapan.  Lapan is a former Homeland Security official who worked at the department when it spent more than $3 million on the construction of the eight border barrier prototypes near San Diego.

Trump, who had wanted a “concrete wall”, now wants a steel bollard wall, or “steel slats” wall.  But these walls have been shown to be susceptible to quickly having a hole cut in them. 

Now however, they are coming up with what they call a “secret sauce” that is poured inside the hollow steel slats that makes them difficult to cut through.  That “secret sauce” has been said to increase the cost significantly, and the ingredients are seriously being kept secret.

In another area, Trump wants the wall to be of a consistent height of 30 feet.

A usual, some of the president’s requests have led to significant alterations in the wall design.  In particular, he has insisted on boosting the height of the structure to that 30 feet, which is far taller than the 15- to 18-foot range that the Border Patrol officials had previously settled on as being optimal.

The advantages of the 30-foot design were in fact made apparent after the administration paid for that series of wall prototypes.  “We were able to test what happens when you put someone up that high. They freeze up,” the former official said. “There was significant deterrence value to putting people on a 30-foot wall.”   Said another official familiar with the president’s desires: “He always wanted to go higher.”

Trump has continued to insist on speeding up construction.  He disagrees with any suggestions from aides that it would take many years to finish the wall.  This is even though many property owners have already sued to not have their border property taken away by the government.  Trump has frequently dived into the details of the building contracts and suggested that some of his friends in New York would have ideas on how to build it faster.

Trump’s changing designs are driving up the wall’s price.  But he now remains adamant that the barrier should be painted black, despite warnings that it would significantly increase construction costs and maintenance budgets.  One construction expert said, “Once you paint it black, you always have to paint it again and again.”

The president, who failed in his promise to force Mexico to pay for his border wall, he still pledges to build 400 miles of new barriers by next year.  It’s a goal he repeated during an immigration speech at the White House this week. The plan would probably require him to reprogram additional taxpayer funds from the military budgets.

With the White House now using an emergency declaration to get an additional $2.5 billion diverted from military budgets, Trump will not face any congressional scrutiny.  This will potentially give him more flexibility for tailoring the structure of the building contracts.

The reason for Trump’s close involvement with “The Wall” comes from a Ms. Barbara Res, a former Trump Organization executive.  She said that Trump would get closely involved in design aspects of his hotels, resorts and other development projects. “If an area was going to be very visible, he got very involved,” she said.

The border wall will be very visible and continually reported on and photographed and filmed, and yes, Trump himself sees “The Wall” as a true monument to: “Donald Trump – The Builder”.

But our very vain president won’t admit that the wall will not stop the illegal and deadly drugs, which are not coming into the country carried over the border.  (Most illegal drugs come hidden in vehicles crossing at legal ports-of-entry, through the mails and other international shipments.  Even in tunnels under the border.)  The Wall will also not stop the people that are coming into the country via legal, short-term visas, and then they over-stay their visas, and some even disappear inside the US.  That is where most illegal immigrants come from, not across the southern border.

But yes, a 30-foot southern border wall would indeed be a “monument” to what will probably end up being the worst ever US President.

Copyright G. Ater 2019