General Discussion

Trump also proposed digging a water-filled moat and stocking it with snakes and alligators. If he was kidding, his aides didn’t think so, as they sought a cost estimate for the cartoonishly ludicrous proposal. Trump also wanted the wall to be electrified, and topped with spikes that could “pierce human flesh.”

This all took place, according to the book, in a March meeting during which the president also ordered the entire 2,000-mile border to be shut down completely by noon the following day. That didn’t happen, but the bout of panic about migrants crossing the border led to “the beginning of a purge of the aides who had tried to contain him.”

This isn’t the first we’ve heard of Trump indulging his inner Wile E. Coyote when it comes to fortifying the border wall. During a trip to San Diego last month, the president regaled reporters with the specifications of “a wall the likes of which very few places have ever seen.” You won’t be able to cut through it with a blowtorch, he explained, and it will be so hot that you’ll be able to “fry an egg” on it. He also claimed that the government contracted 20 “champion” mountain climbers to test wall prototypes, although no one has been able to turn up any evidence this actually happened.

Earlier reports have noted that Trump has demanded the wall be as tall as possible, topped with spikes, and painted black, despite warnings about how much such cosmetic flourishes could drive up the cost.