No, Mexico Won't Pay For The Border Wall, Trump Chief of Staff Says

President Donald Trump continues to spread the idea that he's building a giant wall along the southern border on Mexico's dime—but Trump's own chief of staff John Kelly said in a Wednesday interview that isn't exactly how it will work.

"We have some ideas on how things like visa fees, renegotiation on NAFTA, on what that would mean to our economy," Kelly said on Fox News' Special Report with Bret Baier. "In one way or another, it's possible that we could get the revenue from Mexico, but not directly from their government."

After meeting with border security experts, Kelly said Trump's policy on the border wall "has evolved."

"He has evolved in the way he's looked at things," Kelly continued. "Campaign to governing are two different things, and this president has been very, very flexible in terms of what's within the realm of the possible."

When it comes to the construction of the wall, Kelly underscored that certain areas are better than others.

"There are places where geographically, a wall would not be realistic. There are other parts of the southwest border that are so wild and untamed that there is no traffic that goes through them," he said. "There [are] other places we think about 800 miles [of] additional wall to include the 600 that's already in place…would suffice."

This was in response to a Washington Post report on Wednesday, in which the chief of staff said there would be no wall "that Mexico will pay for."

"Certain things are said during the campaign that are uninformed," Kelly told the publication. "One thing is to campaign, another thing is to govern. It's really hard."

Kelly said that "a concrete wall from sea to shining sea" will not happen, but the administration is requesting "a physical barrier in many places."

Some have previously pointed out that the southern neighbor will not pay a cent for the border wall. Vicente Fox, a former Mexican president, tweeted in January 2017, "Sean Spicer, I've said this to @realDonaldTrump and now I'll tell you: Mexico is not going to pay for that fucking wall. #FuckingWall"

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Christianna Silva is a staff writer for Newsweek covering civil rights with a focus on LGBT issues and police brutality. ... Read more

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