Despite constant promises on the campaign trail to the contrary, President Donald Trump on Thursday admitted that he never meant that Mexico would literally pay for the wall he wants on the southern border.

Trump told reporters he "never said" Mexico was going to pay for the wall — a blatantly untrue statement.

His false comment came while discussing the current political crisis of his own making, where nearly 800,000 federal workers aren't getting paid in the government shutdown because he wants Congress to allocate more than $5 billion for the border wall.

"When during the campaign I would say 'Mexico is going to pay for it' — obviously I never said this" — this is 100% false — "and I never meant they're going to write out a check. I said they're going to pay for it. They are. They are paying for it with the incredible deal we made called the United States, Mexico, and Canada deal [the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement]. It's a trade deal. It has to be approved by Congress," he said.



"When I said 'Mexico will pay for the wall' in front of thousands and thousands of people — obviously they're not going to write a check. But they are paying for the wall indirectly many, many times over by the really great trade deal," he said.

Trump's answer on Thursday was part of his long-term attempt to redefine what he means by Mexico paying for the wall. It began with him saying Mexico would make an outright payment, but as officials there increasingly said this would not happen, Trump gradually changed his definition to say they would pay for it in some way. His latest iteration is saying the still-not-in-effect trade deal will pay for it.

There is nothing in the USMCA that allots funds for the wall. When asked if Mexico would be funding the wall with regard to the USMCA, Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard told BuzzFeed News, "Mexico will never accept any type of participation in the payment of the wall, nor will we agree with that policy. We have already been saying it. That will be permanent."



Furthermore, any revenue raised from the new deal — it still needs to be ratified by all three country's legislatures, which is not guaranteed — would primarily come from taxes on American citizens and companies benefitting from any economic boom, not from the Mexican government. Per the Constitution, Congress decides how to allocate revenue, not the president.



When he declared his candidacy on June 16, 2015, Trump said that he would build a border wall funded by Mexico.



"I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively," he said. "I will build a great, great wall on our southern border. And I will have Mexico pay for that wall. Mark my words."