Under grilling, acting CBP chief struggles to explain why Trump wants border wall painted black

The acting head of Customs and Border Protection on Monday struggled to answer questions about President Donald Trump's plan to paint the border wall black.

The Washington Postreported last month that President Donald Trump has demanded that new sections of the border wall be painted black.

At a press conference on Monday, acting CPB chief Mark Morgan was asked if the black paint actually made "America less safe" because the added cost would force the wall length to be reduced.

"No," Morgan replied, stuttering as he answered. "I -- I think there's a -- a lot goes into -- and that's why I always say -- I give an approximate, like 450 to 500 miles because there's a lot of factors that go into that."

Morgan admitted that paint is one factor that could reduce the total number of miles.

"Do you support painting the wall?" a reporter asked.

"I -- I think we need to strike a balance," Morgan said, "between making sure the miles that we build is the most effective wall system we build with respect to also the number of miles."

"I think it's a balance we need to strike and that's exactly what we're doing," he concluded.

Watch the video below from The White House.