CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta on Tuesday described Donald Trump’s backtracking on his signature campaign promise to “build the wall” and make Mexico pay, telling host Wolf Blitzer it’s clear the president is “trying to figure out how to stick all of us with the tab.”
“The president is also scrambling a way to pay for the wall on the border, floating the idea of taking the money from the just-approved budget for the Pentagon,” Acosta reported on Monday. “The White House wouldn’t confirm that, perhaps because that would be a sign of a key campaign promise that's tumbling down.”
“Now the president suggested the idea of having the Pentagon pay for the wall to House Speaker Paul Ryan last week, but part of the problem with that idea is that the administration simply cannot just take the money away from the military,” Acosta explained. “That would require another vote from Congress.”
“It seems clear the president has given up on making Mexico pay for the wall and he's trying to figure out how to stick all of us with the tab,” the CNN reporter said.
Watch the clip below, via CNN:
