Tag: trump border
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, center, shaking hands with former President Trump in El Paso, TX.

Texas Governor Says He Will Solicit Donations To Build ‘Border Wall’

Reprinted with permission from The Texas Tribune

When Gov. Greg Abbott announced last week that Texas would build its own border wall, one of the immediate questions was who would pay for it.

Abbott has not fully detailed the plan yet, but he said in a podcast interview released Tuesday that the state will be soliciting donations from across the country to help fund the wall.

"When I do make the announcement later on this week, I will also be providing a link that you can click on and go to for everybody in the United States — really everybody in the entire world — who wants to help Texas build the border wall, there will be a place on there where they can contribute," Abbott said on the podcast, a show about Republican politics called Ruthless.

Abbott made national headlines with his announcement Thursday in Del Rio that Texas would build its own wall at the Mexico border, though he provided no further details and said he would lay out the plan this week.

In the meantime, Abbott has faced threats of legal action and a bevy of questions about where, when and how such a wall could be constructed.

Abbott said in the podcast interview that the donations to Texas' border wall will go to a fund "overseen by the state of Texas in the governor's office." He promised "great transparency," saying "everyone will know every penny in, every penny out, but the sole purpose for those funds will be going to build the border wall."

Abbott's plan would not be the first attempt to crowdfund a border wall. There was We Build The Wall, a private fundraising effort that raised more than $25 million after originally planning to construct three miles of fence posts in South Texas. Last year, four people involved in We Build The Wall — including Steve Bannon, the former adviser to President Donald Trump — were charged with allegedly defrauding donors to the effort. Trump pardoned Bannon before leaving office in January.

A closer parallel to Abbott's plan may date to 2011, when the Arizona legislature passed a law establishing a fund, complete with a fundraising website, to construct a fence along the state's border with Mexico. The fund received almost $270,000 by 2014, and a state border security advisory committee decided to give most of the sum to a county sheriff in 2015. The sheriff instead invested the money in border security technology such as GPS systems and binoculars, according to the Arizona Republic.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.

Trump border wall

Angry That Biden Hasn’t Painted Wall, Trump Plans Border Visit

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Jason Miller, senior advisor to former President Donald Trump, revealed that he may soon be traveling to visit the U.S. border but the trip won't be immediate since he's reportedly trying to avoid "creating the impression that he's "showboating" about the issue," Mediaite reports.

During an appearance on The Michael Berry Show, Miller leveled a litany of complaints about the situation unfolding at the border as he criticized President Joe Biden for tapping Vice President Kamala Harris to oversee the issue.

Describing the situation as an "absolute crisis," Miller said, "And then to make matters worse, Joe Biden throws gasoline all over the fire by putting Kamala Harris, Mrs. Open Borders herself, in charge of the entire Southern border?" Miller said. "I mean if this doesn't scare the you-know-what out of you, it should."

Then, the host Michael Berry asked, "Do you foresee the [former] president making a visit to the border?"

Miller admitted that Trump had discussed doing so. "You know, we discussed that recently," he said. "I can see him doing that soon. One of the things that I think President Trump wanted to let Joe Biden go and fail on his own before he goes and steps in on that."

However, Miller insists the trip may not be anytime soon because Trump does not want it to appear like a publicity stunt. He added, "I think there's a very fine line between calling someone out on the policies and then appearing to do something that's showboating, or give Joe Biden an opportunity to point and say 'See? You know this isn't serious work, President Trump is down at the border making a scene out of this,' and allowing Joe to essentially weasel out for not having to go himself."

Miller also suggested that Trump is not happy about the wall not being painted. He added that "it is something that President Trump is really concerned about. All of his hard work. They won't even paint the wall. They were supposed to paint the wall this month. So it would be a black color as opposed to the rust color because elements and such. And Biden has even stopped that."

Despite Miller describing the border situation as a "crisis," the Associated Press reportedly sent guidance to its reporters this week advising them to refrain from describing it with that term.