“General, it’s time to build the wall.” You then try to get a “build that wall” chant going in the Oval Office. But Reince is the only one who chants along with you, so you kick everyone else out. “Reince, fuel up Air Force One. I’m going to fly down to the border and pick out some real estate for the wall.”
A few hours later you are walking through the desert along the U.S.-Mexico border. Reince is following a few steps behind you. As you walk, you’re struck by how long the border is—it seems to go all the way to the horizon in both directions, which would actually make the wall much larger than any development project you’ve undertaken.
“Reince, remind me how tall I promised the wall would be?”
Reince scratches his chin. “Well, Mr. President, that’s kind of a tough one. At various times you said it would be 35 feet high, or 40 feet high, or more than 50 feet high. Also, you compared it to the Great Wall of China.”
You frown, and squint a little. “That’s going to be a pretty expensive wall. I know I said it would cost $5 billion, but now that I think about it, that seems ridiculously low. And we still haven’t gotten a check from Mexico to pay for it—not sure what the holdup there is.”
You stop, winded by your walk through the desert. Even though it’s January, the sun is beating down on you, and you feel a little dizzy from the heat and dehydration. And that’s when you realize how to cut down on materials and costs.