Back when he announced he would for president in 2015, Donald Trump proudly declared that he was planning to build a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border:
“I will build a great wall—and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me—and I’ll build them very inexpensively. I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will make Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words.”
And Trump did build a wall of sorts, although it was actually more of a fence. But it wasn’t inexpensive, as he’d promised. Oh, and Mexico has yet to pony up a dime to pay for the wall.
As it turns out, the “great, great wall” isn’t so great after all, Gizmodo reports, because large sections of it are being ripped apart by rainstorms in the Southwest:
“Photos show former President Donald Trump’s border wall in deep disrepair after summer monsoon rains literally blew floodgates off their hinges.”
So what exactly happened? Simple. Like everything he’s ever done in his life, Trump did it half-assed and now the failure is being laid bare for all to see:
“In the rush to build the wall, Trump sidelined environmental and cultural protection laws. Those laws are meant to protect the natural world and historically significant artifacts and sites. But they also serve the purpose of ensuring multibillion-dollar construction projects don’t face catastrophic failures within a few years of being built.”
You may recall that Trump even diverted millions of dollars from the Department of Defense (even though Congress didn’t approve of his doing so), all so he could have a cheap wall/fence built that cannot even stand up to water. Hell, I have a privacy fence in my back yard that can likely handle rainwater better than the Trump wall does. And it’s made of wood, not the steel that the Donald demanded be used for his flimsy wall.
Now that we have a real president in the White House, the wall is no longer being constructed. Considering how poorly the portions that have been built are faring, that’s a wise move on the part of the Biden administration.
Oh, in case you were wondering, the wall has also been a disaster for the wildlife in the areas where it was constructed:
“That has created an environmental catastrophe for one of the most fragile ecosystems in North America, a place where the wildlife from the tropics, desert, and mountains mingle. Images captured during construction of iconic saguaros being razed as well as numerous environmental impact statements laid the risks bare, and Traphagen described camera trap photos his group has taken documenting everything from rare jaguars to common javelinas pacing along the wall in search of a way around.”
If there’s any justice in the world, nature will continue to take its toll and level the wall/fence much the same way the failed, one-term former president saw his political career cut short because the majority of Americans realized there was a monster in the Oval Office.
Or maybe we should take the wall, deconstruct it, and drop the pieces atop Mar-a-Lago from helicopters. Then Donnie can wall himself in and wait for the cops to show up and slap the cuffs on him.
