President Trump on Wednesday denied a report that he wants to augment the wall on the southern border with a snake- and alligator-infested moat.

“I never said it, never thought it,” said Trump during a kitchen-sink press briefing at the White House, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto seated by his side. “It’s a total lie.”

Trump said he was approached by his communications team Tuesday and asked whether he had actually voiced a desire to dig a water-filled trench.

“My comms people came to me and said, ‘Sir, there’s a book or something being written.’ It’s written by Washington Post people, so you know it’s inaccurate, you know it’s probably a fraud,” said Trump, though the article ran in the New York Times, and was excerpted from a book by two Times reporters.

“President Trump started screaming, ranting and raving that on the southern border … I wanted a wall, but I [also] wanted a moat,” said Trump, describing his takeaway from the article.

“A moat, whatever that is,” said Trump. “It’s not a word I use, but they used it.

“And in the moat, I wanted alligators and snakes, and I wanted the wall to be … electrified, and I wanted sharp spikes at the top,” said Trump. “I want that whole wall to be electrocuted.”

Trump said he was gobsmacked by the claims relayed by his communications team.

“They said, ‘Did you say this?'” recalled Trump. “I said, ‘Why are you asking that stupid question?’

“It is a lie,” said Trump, also referencing a Wednesday morning tweet in which he denied the report and wrote, “I may be tough on Border Security, but not that tough.”

Trump wound down the presser — in which he also blasted Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Adam Schiff, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, over the Ukraine probe — indicating a turning away from his trademark “fake news” catchphrase.

“It was corrupt reporting. I don’t even used ‘fake’ anymore. I call the fake news now ‘corrupt news,'” said Trump. “Because ‘fake’ isn’t tough enough.”