Q President Trump, since we’re here talking about the wall, and the election is fast approaching, do you have anything to say about your 2016 campaign promise that Mexico would pay for it?
THE PRESIDENT: Yeah, they are paying for it.
Q How?
THE PRESIDENT: They’re going to pay at the border, at the gate — cars going through. We’re going to do a toll, or we may do a toll for money being sent back and forth. They will pay for it. Yeah, they are paying for it. It’s a hundred percent.
Q But just to be clear: Right now, they are not paying for it.
THE PRESIDENT: No, no, it doesn’t matter whether they pay now or over the next 12 months. No, no, Mexico will be paying.
You know, it’s the largest entry to a country in terms of business anywhere in the world, by far — a lot of people don’t know that — our southern — our border between Mexico and other countries. But our southern border, it’s the largest point of entry anywhere in the world.
So they are paying for it. Yeah.
Q Just, can one of the officials here, one of the experts talk a little bit about what that fee is, how much it is, and how much you plan to actually earn from it?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think what we’re doing is we’re figuring how much we have to charge, what the charge would be. It won’t be very substantial because we have millions and millions of cars and trucks going through the border. And we also may do it as a tax or a combination. We may do it as a tax — money being sent back into Mexico.
Q Even though the border is closed right now?
THE PRESIDENT: And you know what? That’s closed, but it’s not going to always be closed. And it’s open at entry. At the points of entry, it’s open, but we’re very, very careful. But it will be fully open in a short period of (inaudible). When the pandemic, when the China virus goes, it will be open.
It's not even as big as their border with Canada, is it? Have I read that wrong?
