When Donald Trump promised the American people an “impenetrable, powerful, beautiful” wall on the southern border, it wasn’t totally clear whether the last adjective was intended to be taken literally. “Beautiful” happens to be one of the president’s favorite throwaway descriptors, used for things like chocolate cake at Mar-a-Lago, Confederate statues, and coal. But according to a new report, he was dead serious—so much so that his cosmetic concerns are confusing those tasked with making the wall a reality, and possibly even driving up the already exorbitant cost.

The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Trump is micromanaging the wall project in an effort to ensure that it is “physically imposing but also aesthetically pleasing.” Some of his ideas have a degree of cruel functionality to them, such as his reported desire to paint the steel structure black, so it soaks up the heat of the sun and becomes more difficult to climb, or for it to be adorned with sharp spikes that could cut the hands of would-be climbers. But the real driving force behind his scattershot directives seems to boil down to one thing: “He thinks it’s ugly,” a White House official told the Post.

To the rational mind, a concrete slab or a series of steel bollards across the U.S.-Mexico border was never going to be the Sistine Chapel. But Trump, who has always valued style over substance, is uniquely obsessed with appearances. (“If it was very visible, he got very involved,” Barbara Res, a former Trump Organization executive, told the Post, while others have cited his seeming obsession with fabric swatches and “small samples of wood paneling.”) As such, per the Post, he has “demanded” that D.H.S. officials come to the White House to discuss the project with him, dogged former D.H.S. secretary Kirstjen Nielsen about it, and even insisted that engineers change their design to a 30-foot structure, rather than the original 15- or 18-foot model. (An administration official told the Post the 30-foot design had clear advantages.)

Of course, it’s not entirely surprising that a man who telegraphs his wealth by casting everything in gold would aim to send a hardline message on immigration by decking out his border wall like it’s a monster truck. Indeed, his wall plans are something of a metaphor for much of Trump’s presidency: gratuitously cruel, but hamstrung by his own incompetency. Finally in a position to fulfill his most prominent campaign promise, the president is subverting his taxpayer-funded vanity project with specifications that can change on impulse. And once again, those beneath him will be tasked with turning his absurd demands into reality. “He thinks not only can the wall be effective, it doesn’t have to be an eyesore,” a D.H.S. official told the Post. “That’s what he’s going for, and we have to match that with operational reality.”

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