
Rep. Diane Black wants to set up a government tip jar to collect spare change from taxpayers to help pay for Trump's unpopular and unworkable border wall.

Tennessee Republican Rep. Diane Black is pushing for a government-sanctioned tip jar to collect money for Trump's racist border wall.

Black's legislation would create a "border wall trust fund" to collect money from "public donations" to fund the wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

The unworkable border wall has been the centerpiece of Trump's political career since he first announced he was running for president in 2015. Trump has repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for the construction of hundreds of miles of fencing.


But Mexico has begged to differ.

Recently, Trump's Republican allies have tried to get the construction financed by taxpayers, but most measures have failed.

Fox News host Harris Faulkner asked Black, one of Trump's closest Congressional allies, about the apparent desperation of her legislation.

"What happened to Mexico paying for it?" Faulkner asked.

"I would like for Mexico to pay for that and I’m not close enough to the administration to see what kind of pressure they’re putting on them," Black replied.

Of course, Black has not suggested having the public contribute to issues that are far more relevant and of greater concern to the vast majority of Americans. There are no tip jar proposals from Black and her fellow Republicans addressing the cost of health care; taking care of the poor, elderly, or military veterans; or addressing the vital need to clean up the environment.

Those issues affect millions of lives. But they don't get a tip jar. Meanwhile, Black, Trump, and their allies work to undermine the health care system and push a budget that would cause further harm.

Black is running for governor in Tennessee, where a recent poll shows 46 percent of voters hold negative views of her. That percentage jumps to 52 percent among independent voters.

Not coincidentally, Black has voted with Trump over 93 percent of the time.

The border wall bid seems to be a ploy for Black to paint herself in a more favorable light. But all it does is further attach her to Trump's unpopular presidency. And it serves to highlight all the other vital issues she and her fellow wall enthusiasts are ignoring.

Building a border wall is nonsensical. Funding it with a public tip jar highlights how empty Trump's rhetoric and promises have been.

The border wall fantasy is dying. And as Republicans like Black keep trying to resuscitate it, they just look desperate and pathetic.