Like the rest of the left-leaning establishment media, The Washington Post hasn’t tried very hard to hide the fact that it is attempting to undermine Donald Trump’s presidency at every turn, but its latest report on his efforts to get the “Big, Beautiful Wall” built reads more like a promotional piece for the illegal immigration-battling president than another transparent effort by a left-leaning outlet to torch him.
Trump, the Post reports, is doing everything he possibly can to get that border wall built — even going so far as to promise his aides that he’ll “pardon” them if they break a few pesky laws in the larger effort to keep Americans safe and address the humanitarian crisis caused by illegal immigration.
“President Trump is so eager to complete hundreds of miles of border fence ahead of the 2020 presidential election that he has directed aides to fast-track billions of dollars’ worth of construction contracts, aggressively seize private land and disregard environmental rules, according to current and former officials involved with the project,” The Washington Post reported Tuesday.
“When aides have suggested that some orders are illegal or unworkable, Trump has suggested he would pardon the officials if they would just go ahead, aides said. He has waved off worries about contracting procedures and the use of eminent domain, saying ‘take the land,’ according to officials who attended the meetings,” the Post reports.
“Don’t worry, I’ll pardon you,” Trump reportedly told officials in meetings about the border wall project.
While Trump supporters would no doubt cheer that line at a rally, an unnamed White House official threw some cold water on the Post’s chant-inspiring quote. When the Post asked for comment, the official said Trump was just joking.
One of the other big details from the Post’s story is that Trump really wants that wall painted black, even if it means building a little less wall. While his preference for a matte black wall has been reported before, the Post’s update on that idea includes some more specifics, including that it would cost between $70 to $133 million to paint 175 miles of barriers, but also that border agents agree with Trump that it would, in fact, make the wall harder to scale.
“The coating, known as ‘matte black’ or ‘flat black,’ absorbs heat, making the fence hot to the touch, more slippery and therefore tougher to climb, according to border agents,” the Post reports.
As for how much progress Trump has made on the wall: that continues to be a bit disappointing for those hoping to see that 500 miles of wall he’s promised. Thus far, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed only about 60 miles of what it describes as “replacement” barrier and no barrier in areas where there wasn’t already fencing.
One person who was willing to go on record for the Post’s barrier piece was Deputy White House Press Secretary Hogan Gidley, who told the paper that the president is just doing what he promised: attempting to promote “sane, rational immigration policies.”
“Donald Trump promised to secure our border with sane, rational immigration policies to make American communities safer, and that’s happening everywhere the wall is being built,” he said. All the criticisms directed at Trump, he said, are “just more fabrications by people who hate the fact the status quo, that has crippled this country for decades, is finally changing as President Trump is moving quicker than anyone in history to build the wall, secure the border and enact the very immigration policies the American people voted for.”
Trump is “fighting aggressively for the American people where other leaders in the past have rolled over, sold out, and done absolutely nothing,” said Gilroy.
Related: Trump: NYT Just Admitted What I’ve Been Saying All Along About Their Anti-Trump Agenda