In a recent exchange with a CNN’s Kaitlan Collins during his Rose Garden address, Trump’s exasperation at being questioned about his inconsistent statements was on full display. To her eternal credit, Collins held the President to account and pressed him with what he has actually said in the past.
We actually wrote here at DC Tribune about Trump’s rude reaction to Collins on the day it happened, and his tendency to try and silence reporters whose questions he simply doesn’t like. As we noted at the time, Trump was peevish from the outset when Collins pointed out that he’d said that not only would Mexico pay for his border wall but that it would be made of concrete and not the steel he’s been insisting on in recent days:
Oh, here we go.”
But since Trump insisted that he “never said concrete,” we wanted to look further into what his past statements were.
As it turns out, not only did Trump explicitly say the wall would be made of concrete, he actually went into great detail about not only how it would be reinforced with steel rebar inside, but also what kind of foundations it would sit on. And he said it all using a young boy as a campaign prop.
At a rally in Manassas, Virginia in December 2015, Trump was taking questions and the boy raised his hand to ask specifically what the wall would be made out of. Trump saw the opportunity for a great photo present itself, and he brought the child onstage with him, holding him up under his armpits to the microphone to repeat his question. Any attention to the wall at that time was good attention, since Trump was making it the primary foundation of his entire campaign.
Watch the juxtaposed clips of Trump’s awkward denial of having said the wall would be made of concrete and the Virginia rally with the young boy:
Featured image via screen capture
