Except that the actual campaign promise was that Mexico, NOT US taxpayers, would pay for the wall.
True enough, but Congress must provide the seed money to get the wall started so as not to delay construction. There are many ways to get Mexico to pay for the wall, e.g., a surcharge on visas; a tax on the annual $27 billion sent to Mexico as remittances; a tariff on Mexican imports; etc.
It doesn’t matter. The cost of the wall is chump change and it will pay for it self in reduced social welfare spending. If you are against the wall being built you are an enemy of what Trump and his voters stand for. Like I said $20B is pocket change.
He should have been more specific about that promise. I took it from to first to mean that Mexico would pay for the wall as Trump policies reduced our trade deficit with Mexico and brought back some jobs and prevented others from moving to Mexico. Not to mention the enforcement of immigration laws and the savings that will bring.
Those results would pay for the wall many times over in a few years. But he left the promise too open and now his enemies are using it against him.
No sensible person ever believed Mexico would supply funds directly to pay for the wall and no one thinks that now.