Trump revealed the design for his infamous Mexican Border Wall on Twitter earlier this morning, just as the question of funding for the wall was leading the US government towards a partial shutdown.
A design of our Steel Slat Barrier which is totally effective while at the same time beautiful! pic.twitter.com/sGltXh0cu9
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 21, 2018
He described it as a “steel slat barrier” that is “totally effective while at the same time beautiful” which is a strange thing to say about a wall of spikes, frankly. A dog is beautiful. A newborn baby is beautiful. A spiky wall? Not so much beautiful as it is hostile.
And after all Trump’s talk of this wall, is this design really all he has to show for it? It looks like it’s from a WikiHow guide. It looks like it was designed by someone with the bare minimum design skills that are presumably required to work for Trump. Anyone with experience in MS Paint is welcome to apply!
The issue of who will be paying for the construction of this wall has been a contentious one. Trump originally wanted Mexico to pay for the wall, but that idea was quickly quashed, now the US government is in disarray as politicians can’t reach an agreement on government spending, which includes funding for the wall.
Without an approved budget, the government goes into a partial shutdown, meaning hundreds of thousands of federal employees will stop being paid at midnight on Saturday. More than 50% of the employees affected will still be expected to work, however, including airport employees, prison guards, FBI agents and border patrol agents.
This is the first time in 40 years that the government has shutdown three times in one year.
Breaking: The government will partially shut down at midnight tonight, the first time in 40 years it have been closed three times in a year.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) December 22, 2018
The President back then was Jimmy Carter, and three of the four shutdowns that occurred during his presidency were because the House didn’t want to make it easier for abortions to be covered by federal funding.
Trump has previously said that he would be “proud” to shutdown the government, so I’m sure he’s feeling incredibly proud right now. What an achievement.
