Donald Trump's border wall to get bizarre makeover - here's the reason why
Donald Trump's huge border wall between the US and Mexico is set to get a ridiculous makeover for a bizarre reason.
The US President's right-hand-woman Kristi Noem revealed the entire southern wall will be painted black for a cruel reason. The US Department of Homeland Security Secretary said roughly 700 miles of the border structure is due to be turned black in an odd effort to make the steel too hot for people to touch and crawl up and over, when the sun is beating down. This follows the Trump administrations plans to dramatically extend the already huge border wall in efforts to cut down immigration from South America.
Noem, standing in front of a section of the wall in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, revealed her plan to make the structure "impossible" to go over. She said: "It's tall, which makes it very, very difficult to climb, almost impossible. It also goes deep into the ground, which would make it very difficult, if not impossible, to dig under. And today we are also going to be painting it black.
The DHS Secretary revealed the bizarre plan was another one of Trumps strange ideas. She added: "That is specifically at the request of the president, who understands that in the hot temperatures down here, when something is painted black, it gets even warmer, and it will make it even harder for people to climb.
"So we are going to be painting the entire southern border wall black to make sure that we encourage individuals to not come into our country illegally."
Noem's announcement came with a performative press opportunity where she was seen picking up a roller brush and dipping it into black paint to get started on Trump's new idea.
The U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks also claimed the black paint would help deter rust. The cost of this huge project has not yet been shared.
A DHS spokesperson, on the cost of the wall, said: "With the OBBB we will be able to finish the border wall system started under President Trump's first term. Due to an active procurement process to finish the wall it would be irresponsible to the American taxpayer to release the numbers as it may impact future bids."
Last month, the US President signed his hugely controversial " big, beautiful bill" which set aside $165 billion for the Department of Homeland Security - most of which will be spent on the southern border. Noem also said around half a mile of barrier has been built each day, adding: "The border wall will look very different based on the topography and the geography of where it is built."
Trump once campaigned on building a "big, beautiful wall", in 2018 during his first run to become president, but many stretches of the border remain empty seven years after his promise.
During Trump's first term, he reportedly told a group of officials and engineers that he also wanted the wall to have sharp spikes on the top to further deter people from climbing over.
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