President Donald Trump stated that he could easily close the southern border of the United States, just a day after he said that he is giving Mexico a “one-year warning,” The Hill reported.
While visiting a Border Patrol station in Southern California, Trump praised Mexico’s efforts to apprehend migrants from Central America but said he would not be afraid to close down the border if necessary.
“It won’t take a year, it’ll take a day,” Trump said, accusing media outlets of writing “a lot of fake news” about how long it would take for him to make the move.
On Thursday, the President said “we’re going to give them a one-year warning” before slapping tariffs on autos made in Mexico or shutting down the border if Mexico’s government does not do more to stem the flow of drugs and migrants.
Trump in those remarks backed off his previous threat to close the border this week, a move lawmakers and business groups warned could inflict significant harm on the U.S. economy.
Yet earlier on Friday Trump denied changing his mind about shuttering the border and said he could do so at a later date.
“I never changed my mind at all,” he told reporters as he left the White House. “So Mexico, I have to say, has been very, very good.”
Though Trump has sent a series of mixed signals in recent days, he used his visit to California to promote his administration’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, an issue he has put at the center of his 2020 reelection campaign.
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