Trump aide forced to admit that no new part of the border wall has been built

Donald Trump's acting Customs and Border Protection commissioner Mark Morgan has one of the most unenviable gigs in America: justifying the administration's brutal "zero tolerance" policies enforcing the law on immigration.

From deportation raids to family separations and defending the indefensible, it's a dirty job and Morgan has foolishly agreed to do it.

Things went worse for Morgan than usual during a White House press conference on Thursday, when NBC News reporter Peter Alexander began to push him for an update on the progress of Trump's border wall.

Morgan claimed 78 miles of the barrier had been built "from sea to shining sea" (nice - only 2,000 more to go!) but Alexander smelt a rat:

So, much of that is replacing wall that formerly existed - but the president said that was insufficient.

How many miles of wall now exist where there was no wall whatsoever?

Morgan thought about that and repeated:

So again, my response to that is every mile of wall that’s being built is a new mile of wall.

Alexander wasn't satisfied:

No disagreements on that. But just for a breakdown: How many miles formerly existed that have now been renovated or replace and how many miles new where nothing existed?

At this point, Morgan folded like a fresh shirt and admitted the truth:

So right now, the 78 miles that have been built have been built where there was an existing form of barrier.

Brutal. Absolutely brutal.

Trump is so desperate to get his wall up in time for the 2020 election he has asked his officials to break the law if they have to to get the job done in exchange for a presidential pardon.

His dreams of a formidable barrier to keep out immigrants from Central America once included spikes and snipers lining the top of it and a "moot" of rabid snakes and alligators running along its base but he's since had to rein in his expectations.

So much so in fact that he recently admitted even ordinary household power tools might be able to break through the finished fence.

HT AlterNet

More: Trump declared he is going to build a wall in Colorado which is nowhere near the border