President Trump early Thursday morning sought to clarify remarks he made regarding his long-promised wall along the southern border, saying he was only kidding when he mentioned that a barrier was being constructed along the nonborder state of Colorado.
“(Kiddingly) We’re building a Wall in Colorado,” Trump said on Twitter, before arguing that he intended to say that residents in states like Colorado and Kansas were getting the benefit of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.
{mosads}Trump sparked mockery from several Democratic lawmakers Wednesday night after telling a crowd at the Shale Insight Conference in Pittsburgh that the U.S. was in the process of building a wall along the southern border of Colorado, a state that sits directly north New Mexico.
“You know why we’re going to win New Mexico? Because they want safety on their border. And they didn’t have it,” Trump said.
“And we’re building a wall on the border of New Mexico. And we’re building a wall in Colorado. We’re building a beautiful wall, a big one that really works that you can’t get over, you can’t get under,” he continued. “And we’re building a wall in Texas. And we’re not building a wall in Kansas, but they get the benefit of the walls we just mentioned. And Louisiana’s incredible.”
“Well this is awkward…Colorado doesn’t border Mexico,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said on Facebook just hours after Trump’s initial remarks.
“Good thing Colorado now offers free full day kindergarten so our kids can learn basic geography.”
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) tagged New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich (D) and Tom Udall (D) in a tweet asking if either of them wanted to break the news to Trump that Colorado borders New Mexico.
“Do one of you want to break it to @realDonaldTrump that Colorado’s border is with New Mexico, not Mexico…or should I?” he said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) tweeted a photo of a U.S. map with a sharpie altering the boundaries of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Trump has repeatedly touted his promise to build a wall along the southern border since launching his presidential campaign in 2015.
Earlier this year, Trump declared a national emergency to divert military funds to the project.
Part of the wall is being built along the Colorado River, which shares a border with Mexico.