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The Internet Is Skeptical After President Trump's Border Wall Tweet

Britni de la Cretaz
April 23, 2017, 7:45 PM
Photo: Andrew Harnik/AP Images.
President Trump has once again taken to Twitter to make a statement and, once again, people have some harsh words in response. This time it's a tweet from 45 about his proposed border wall with Mexico, which he believes will curb illegal immigration and the import of drugs from the south.
The border wall, which was part of Trump's campaign platform, is in the news as the president nears the 100th day of his presidency. Though Mexico has adamantly denied that it will pay for a wall, the Trump administration continues to maintain that they will, despite having no concrete plan for how to make that happen. In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said of the wall, “We're going to get paid for it one way or the other."
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Upon questioning from Stephanopoulos, Sessions admitted he doesn't expect the government of Mexico to "appropriate money," but insisted the United States has other ways to get money from Mexico. Trump's tweet echoed this noncommittal certainty.
While also taking a dig at Democrats.
But even Republicans are doubtful. Last month, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was asked by Politico whether he thinks Mexico will pay for the wall. “Uh, no,” was his response. Trump's tweet also comes as the threat of a government shutdown on April 29th — his 100th day in office — looms. According to the Wall Street Journal, Mick Mulvaney, the budget director in the Trump White House, recently suggested that if Trump didn’t get the defense spending and border wall, which he also promised would be paid for by Mexico, then the federal payments that cover health insurance for millions of Americans under the Affordable Care Act would be cut.
However, the funding that Trump has requested — which includes "thirty billion dollars for defense, several billion for more ICE agents and the border wall, as well as eighteen billion dollars in cuts to domestic spending and the ability to withhold federal money from cities that don’t coöperate with immigration officials," per the WSJ — can't pass without some Democratic votes. However, not only are those votes unlikely, but many Republicans — most notably Republicans in border states — are also against Trump's border wall.
It is into this high-stakes political environment that President Trump unleashed his very carefully worded tweet. As it is known to do, Twitter exploded with humorous and scathing reactions.
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One thing is for sure: all eyes will be on Washington, D.C. come April 29th.
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