President Donald Trump says the U.S. needs “anywhere from 700 to 900 miles” of see-through wall along the Mexican border.
Trump told reporters during his flight to Paris that the U.S. won’t need a wall all along the roughly 2,000 mile border because of “natural barriers,” including mountains and rivers. The winding Rio Grande defines the border in most of Texas while the Colorado River marks the boundary along 24 miles in Arizona. Trump describes the rivers as “violent and vicious” though in parts of Texas the river is little more than a trickle of water.
There’s already about 650 miles of fences and barriers at the border that Trump says need to be replaced or fixed.
He also says the fence needs to be see-through, in part to help avoid injuries from sacks of drugs being tossed over the barrier.
The White House had originally said Trump’s comments were off the record, but reversed course Thursday.
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