White House dodges on whether Trump has eased off demand that Mexico pay for wall

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Thursday refused to answer whether President Donald Trump has backed off his demand that Mexico pay for a border wall, and appeared to get frustrated as reporters repeatedly pressed the issue.

Trump aggressively campaigned on the idea that Mexico would foot the bill, but has shifted to demanding that Congress get the funds for the wall — at least initially — and this week threatened a government shutdown if lawmakers don't come through.


“The president's committed to making sure this gets done,” Sanders said. “We know that the wall and other security measures at the border work. We've seen that take place over the last decade and we're committed to making sure the American people are protected and we're going to continue to push forward and make sure that the wall gets built.”

When asked why he has backed away from saying Mexico will pay for the project, Sanders quipped, “He hasn't said they're not either.”

Sanders instead called on Democrats for bipartisan support on the measure. "[Trump] won on talking about building a wall. And he's going to make sure that that gets done," she said. "And he'll continue to fight for that funding and ensure that it takes place.

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"Let's not forget that there were a lot of Democrat senators that also voted for border security and a border fence and hopefully some of those same individuals will talk to members in their current party and maybe we can get a bipartisan group to support that and make sure it happens, because this president's going to see it," she said.

If Mexico denies funding for the wall, as they've promised to do, Sanders wouldn't answer whether that would be a concession made to Mexico from the White House at the expense of American taxpayers.

"Again, this is something the president committed to," she said. "He's committed to protecting American Lives, and doing that through the border wall is something that's important, it's a priority, and we're moving forward with it."