Even though President Trump's dream of building a massive border wall continues to get rejected - first by Mexico and then by Congress - he now is pushing for a border wall with solar panels.

No, it's not a joke or a story from the news satire publication The Onion.

The "solar wall" or "solar-powered border wall" or whatever social media is trying to name it - was proposed by Trump, who ironically doesn't believe in the need for renewable energy.

Trump wants to build border wall covered in solar panels (and loaded with irony) https://t.co/yo9ZFmsI9o @jmpyper via @greentechmedia — Hugh Byrne (@hdbyrne) June 7, 2017

He recently left the Paris climate agreement, saying a shift to clean energy is a bad deal for America. Yet, in the White House on Tuesday, Trump met with GOP leaders and suggested that his beloved border wall could be built with solar panels as a way to pay for it, according to several sources familiar with the conversation.

Twitter, processing Trump's proposal to build the border wall w/solar panels. pic.twitter.com/2O7Gr4qVzF — Elizabeth Harball (@ElizHarball) June 6, 2017

"One idea he is looking at is a wall that would actually function as a solar panel to ultimately pay for itself," House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) told The Hill. Scalise also said the suggestion "sounds like it's got real promise," to the Wall Street Journal.

The solar panel wall idea would be okay if instead of a wall the panels were scattered across the country. — James Hamblin (@jameshamblin) June 7, 2017

The odd part of the GOP getting excitement over the idea of a solar border wall, is that they have worked extremely hard to challenge renewables at state and federal levels for years. How is the party of small government going to pay for a multibillion-dollar government plan to build the largest solar system on earth, especially when Trump's budget plan cuts renewable energy by a whopping 70 percent?