At a recent CNN Townhall, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to soften her opposition to Trump’s controversial border wall, a project she previously ridiculed as a “medieval vanity project” and called racist. When questioned on her current stance regarding border security, Harris sidestepped giving a direct answer about her position on further wall construction.
Despite having criticized Trump’s wall in 2020 as a “waste of taxpayer money,” Harris now seems to be leaning toward the idea, as she backs a bipartisan bill that includes more funding for the wall. At the townhall, Harris acknowledged that while some of Biden’s efforts have helped address border issues, lasting solutions require bipartisan cooperation. She emphasized the need to strengthen the border, indirectly acknowledging the inclusion of wall funding in the bill she supports.
Harris also made a claim about Trump building just 2% of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. However, a 2021 report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection contradicted this, revealing that Trump’s administration had built 52 miles of a new main wall and 33 miles of backup wall. In addition, 370 miles of deteriorating or outdated barriers were replaced. While Trump had initially promised a wall spanning between 500 to 1,000 miles, the report showed he only completed around 5.2% of his goal. The total U.S.-Mexico border stretches roughly 2,000 miles, meaning that the newly built sections accounted for just 2.6% of the entire border. Nonetheless, Trump’s goal focused more on reinforcing specific areas rather than constructing an entirely new wall.
