# Donald Trump vs. the US-Mexico border **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 29, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729 "2019-03-29T18:39:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/1 "2019-03-29T18:39:52Z")
[It’s ON!](https://apnews.com/7ff47e107a4c432fa323ed6d55fa3f39) In a series of tweets today, Trump threatened to close all or part of the US-Mexico border. [From CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/29/trump-threatens-to-close-us-mexico-border-over-illegal-immigration.html): > [@](#): > > Trump tweet 1: The DEMOCRATS have given us the weakest immigration laws anywhere in the World. Mexico has the strongest, & they make more than $100 Billion a year on the U.S. Therefore, CONGRESS MUST CHANGE OUR WEAK IMMIGRATION LAWS NOW, & Mexico must stop illegals from entering the U.S… > > Trump tweet 2: …through their country and our Southern Border. Mexico has for many years made a fortune off of the U.S., far greater than Border Costs. If Mexico doesn’t immediately stop ALL illegal immigration coming into the United States throug our Southern Border, I will be CLOSING… > > Trump tweet 3: …the Border, or large sections of the Border, next week. This would be so easy for Mexico to do, but they just take our money and “talk.” Besides, we lose so much money with them, especially when you add in drug trafficking etc.), that the Border closing would be a good thing! I hope he follows thru on this threat, unlike all his other empty threats, because this would be a disaster from the moment he said “go” and I’d like to see him be that wrong so intractably. He’s been fighting the border since he was a candidate; it is the windmill to his Quixote, perhaps. Will this be Trump’s knockout blow? Or just a feeble airslap from his tiny hands? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/2 "2019-03-29T18:40:33Z")
I’m hoping he actually does it as well. Just to watch the sh\*t-show that will happen. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/3 "2019-03-29T18:43:31Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > I’m hoping he actually does it as well. Just to watch the sh\*t-show that will happen. Yep, I’m sure this is gonna work out _spectacularly_ well. So, if people try to come across anyway, are we gonna have troops just start shooting them, or what? ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/4 "2019-03-29T18:48:24Z")
Lemme guess: Faux and Friends has been airing chaotic border scenes again, and the hosts wondered why somebody doesn’t do something. Trump is a tool’s tool. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/5 "2019-03-29T18:50:39Z")
" I didn’t think that shutting the border would result in actually shutting the border" Says man who loses job because border was shut. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/6 "2019-03-29T18:53:58Z")
That was Wednesday night’s comment, **El Kabong** ; no idea if it is still in his head. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/7 "2019-03-29T18:54:57Z")
So - is this shutting the border thing going to involve forbidding US citizens from going to Mexico as well? Or just not letting 'em back in again on the return trip? ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/8 "2019-03-29T19:04:44Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > So - is this shutting the border thing going to involve forbidding US citizens from going to Mexico as well? Or just not letting 'em back in again on the return trip? REAL Americans don’t want to visit other, less Great countries. So the ones that do can just stay there! ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/9 "2019-03-29T19:07:02Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > So, if people try to come across anyway, are we gonna have troops just start shooting them, or what? He just said this week that shooting asylum seekers at the border would be very effective. Said he’d never do it, but it would be effective. So, who knows. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/10 "2019-03-29T19:16:28Z")
More blustering shit from the Bullshitter in Chief. He’s 239 lbs of shit stuffed into a 10 lb bag. I can’t wait to see how he follows through on his latest spewing forth of shit. I’m guessing it will be in the form of a follow-up tweet. Something like “I’ve been so tough on Mexico, they’ve agreed to work with me so I’ve decided to leave the boarder [sic] open. WINNING!! MAGA!!” ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/11 "2019-03-29T19:17:12Z")
Anyone who looks at the behavior of the thing in the Oval Office and sees something other than crazier than a cut snake, ought to seek some mental help of their own. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/12 "2019-03-29T19:38:56Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > He just said this week that shooting asylum seekers at the border would be very effective. Said he’d never do it, but it would be effective. > > So, who knows. Sorry, I somehow missed this. A quick Google search didn’t turn up any Trump comments on this topic more recent than February, and it doesn’t seem to be in his Twitter feed. Anyone got a link? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/13 "2019-03-29T19:44:42Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > He’s been fighting the border since he was a candidate; it is the windmill to his Quixote, perhaps. Kindly leave Don Alonso out of this. While he may or may not have been insane, he was neither venal nor an imbecile. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/14 "2019-03-29T19:53:15Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Sorry, I somehow missed this. A quick Google search didn’t turn up any Trump comments on this topic more recent than February, and it doesn’t seem to be in his Twitter feed. Anyone got a link? > **[Trump Says Other Countries Aim Machine Guns At Migrants, But U.S. Won’t](https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/28/donald-trump-countries-aim-machine-guns-at-migrants/23701843/)** > > Trump told Fox News’ Sean Hannity that pointing machine guns at migrants is a “very effective” deterrent but he “wouldn’t want to do it.” ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/15 "2019-03-29T19:58:47Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > [Donald Trump says other countries aim machine guns at migrants, but U.S. won’t](https://www.aol.com/article/news/2019/03/28/donald-trump-countries-aim-machine-guns-at-migrants/23701843/) Oh, it was in an interview with Hannity. That explains why I missed it. Many thanks. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/16 "2019-03-29T20:24:52Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > That was Wednesday night’s comment, **El Kabong** ; no idea if it is still in his head. He repeated it today: > (Link goes to tweet which screen-shotted the 3 Trump tweets which contained his argument, and threat, to shut down the border.) Living here about 140 miles from Mexico, I would love to see Trump shut down the border. Nothing will make Texas Republicans prouder than forbidding access to the states largest trading partner. I mean, what’s a paltry [$187 billion\*](https://www.naftamexico.net/naftaworks/usmextrade/texas.pdf) of annual revenue good for anyway? It’s only a trifling 13% of our [overall GDP](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Texas). This will be awesome. Or… it would be, because Dotard is not going to do it. \*Texas exports more to Mexico ($187b) than [California does with the entire world](https://advocacy.calchamber.com/international/trade/trade-statistics/) ($172b). ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/17 "2019-03-30T02:05:01Z")
> [@El\_Kabong](#): > > Yep, I’m sure this is gonna work out _spectacularly_ well. > > So, if people try to come across anyway, are we gonna have troops just start shooting them, or what? That’s what he wanted to do the last time, wasn’t it? > [@Aspidistra](#): > > So - is this shutting the border thing going to involve forbidding US citizens from going to Mexico as well? Or just not letting 'em back in again on the return trip? Hey, he can have a two for one deal! He’s constantly lying about Muslim terrorists coming in, so this way he can keep brown folks and Muslim out as well. > [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > He just said this week that shooting asylum seekers at the border would be very effective. Said he’d never do it, but it would be effective. > > So, who knows. Damn, he sure spends a lot of time thinking about shooting innocent people, doesn’t he? Oh, yeah. If they’re minorities, they’re not innocent in his book (so to speak; you know damn well he doesn’t read books, for goodness’ sake). > [@wguy123](#): > > More blustering shit from the Bullshitter in Chief. He’s 239 lbs of shit stuffed into a 10 lb bag. I can’t wait to see how he follows through on his latest spewing forth of shit. I’m guessing it will be in the form of a follow-up tweet. Something like “I’ve been so tough on Mexico, they’ve agreed to work with me so I’ve decided to leave the boarder [sic] open. WINNING!! MAGA!!” You are mistaken, sir/ma’am! After all, there’s no way his official physical results are correct. I’d have to say it’s more like 275 pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/18 "2019-03-30T02:47:12Z")
Shutting down the border would be as big a fiasco for Trump as shutting down the government was. And like that, Trump will end up looking incompetent and having to back down. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2019, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/19 "2019-03-30T03:15:39Z")
I find it ironic that the people that claim we need a wall to stop illegal crossings keep making it harder for desperate people to cross the border legally. They force people to find alternate routes and then complain that people take them. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2019, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729/20 "2019-03-30T05:30:11Z")
> [@simster](#): > > I find it ironic that the people that claim we need a wall to stop illegal crossings keep making it harder for desperate people to cross the border legally. > > They force people to find alternate routes and then complain that people take them. Not just for desperate people, for everybody. I think a lot of them simply can’t conceive the idea of someone wanting to cross a border for other than nefarious purposes; they include “trade” and “study” in “nefarious” because how dare they take our jobs or our class seats, never mind that if WhicheverOurCountryHappensToBe was the only country with jobs and schools well duh, everybody would be trying to come in and justifiedly so! > [@Aspidistra](#): > > So - is this shutting the border thing going to involve forbidding US citizens from going to Mexico as well? Or just not letting 'em back in again on the return trip? I think he should do it both ways and just during Spring Break :halo: [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/donald-trump-vs-the-us-mexico-border/831729.md?page=2)