Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” CNN political commentator Angela Rye said President Donald Trump’s insistence that a wall be built at the U.S. Mexico border is “about xenophobic, racist, bigoted beliefs that he holds.”

Rye said, “It’s not what Republicans might have wanted him to say, but they knew what they were getting when they were getting this strong man. Right? This is someone who pledged his campaign on not being afraid to back down from Democrats. This was an opportunity to show that he had gravitas in this room. And little does he know that part of being a statesman, which I think he should look up in the dictionary, is figuring out where you can compromise. This is not a point of compromise for Democrats. There was a comprehensive immigration reform bill that the Senate passed a few years back. It’s worth now looking back at what was in that measure. It is time for people to understand, there’s not just one border, there are water borders, there is a northern border. And all of these things are of concern.”

She added, “Donald Trump is fixated on the Southern border, as he was the day that he announced his campaign. It is not about securing the borders. It is about xenophobic, racist, bigoted beliefs that he holds. And he’s trying to continue to give platforms to people who believe those things.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN