Rerun

promise

The recurring promise that Mexico will pay for the wall

You're probably here because of the Oct 2026 rerun. This is the 13th time since 2016 (archive start) this has been promised. The previous rerun was Oct 2023.

About this story

Starting with his June 2015 campaign launch, Donald Trump promised many times that Mexico would pay for a wall on the southern border. Mexican leaders refused every time. Over the years, Trump said Mexico would pay back the cost, then that it would pay "indirectly" through trade, troops or tariffs. Fact-checkers found that U.S. taxpayers paid for the wall: NBC put the first-term cost at about $15 billion and CNN at more than $16 billion, and Mexico paid nothing directly. The Washington Post had counted 212 times Trump made the promise by January 2019.

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Oct 2026 Trump claims Mexico paid for the wall through tariffs at Highland Heights, Kentucky rally

At a midterm rally in Highland Heights, Kentucky, on 17 October 2026, Donald Trump said "Mexico did pay for that wall… because I charged them tariffs." He added that Mexico had paid "many, many times over." This repeats his 2016 campaign promise that Mexico would pay, now framed as payment through tariffs. By then, the 2025 "One Big Beautiful Bill" (H.R. 1) had set aside $51.6 billion of U.S. money for the wall, CBP checkpoints and facilities, including $46.6 billion for wall construction. Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, said in July 2025 that Mexico had put no money into the wall. PBS reports that U.S. importers pay tariffs to the U.S. Treasury and usually pass the cost on to their customers.

  • rollcall.com statement
    Mexico did pay for that wall, just so you understand, because I charged them tariffs
  • univision.com article
    México sí que pagó ese muro, para que lo sepan.
  • youtube.com video
    Mexico Has Paid For That Wall Many, Many Times Over

Sources: rollcall.com reliable · infobae.com needs a second source · americanimmigrationcouncil.org needs a second source · Public Broadcasting Service reliable

Oct 2023 Trump says he promised Mexico would pay for "a piece" of the wall

On October 29, 2023, at a campaign event in Sioux City, Iowa, Trump said, "I said, Mexico will pay for a piece of the wall," and added, "there was no legal instrument to do that." He said he "got much more money" by getting Mexico "to pay for 28,000 soldiers that guarded our border for years" (Factba.se transcript). CNN's October 30 fact check rated the "piece" claim false. It cited 2015–2016 speeches in which Trump promised Mexico would pay "100%," and said a search of Factba.se found no examples of him saying "a piece" during the 2016 campaign. By then, CNN reported, "The wall was paid for by Americans," with the Trump administration putting more than $16 billion in federal money toward it. CNN said Mexico had agreed to deploy thousands of troops during his presidency, but it did not describe that as payment for the wall.

  • rollcall.com statement
    you remember I used to say Mexico will pay for the piece of the wall.
  • CNN article
    The wall was paid for by Americans; the Trump administration directed more than $16 billion in federal money toward the project.

Sources: CNN reliable · rollcall.com reliable

Jul 2023 Christie–Trump argument over who paid for the wall (Republican primary)

In 2015 and 2016, Trump repeatedly promised that Mexico would pay for the whole wall. In July 2016 he said "a hundred percent – 100%." On July 15–16, 2023, Christie said Mexico paid nothing. Trump answered that he had said Mexico would pay "some way" and that it did so by supplying "28,000 soldiers free of charge." By then, according to CNN, the Trump administration had directed more than $16 billion of US money to the project, about $6 billion appropriated by Congress and about $10 billion moved from the Defense Department. Mexico spent nothing on it. CNN also reported 458 miles built, of which 85 were in places with no earlier barrier (52 primary plus 33 secondary).

  • CNN article
    Mexico didn’t pay for any of it. Not one damn peso.

Sources: CNN reliable · wral.com needs a second source · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Jan 2021 Farewell visit to the wall in Alamo, Texas

When Trump launched his campaign on June 16, 2015, he said: "I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I'll have Mexico pay for that wall" (Newsweek). On January 12, 2021, eight days before leaving office, he spoke at a new section of wall near Alamo, Texas. He said "I kept my promises" and marked "the completion of the promised 450 miles of border wall" (American Presidency Project transcript). Fact-checks published that day found that Mexico had not paid. NBC reported that about $15 billion had been allocated and that "Taxpayers foot the bill." Newsweek cited a CBP estimate of $15 billion in U.S. funds. The Dallas Morning News reported that most of the money came from Pentagon funds. NBC also reported that only 47 of the 450 miles were wall built where no barrier had stood before.

  • presidency.ucsb.edu statement
    But unlike those who came before me, I kept my promises. And today we celebrate an extraordinary milestone: the completion of the promised 450 miles of border wall.
  • NBC News article
    Mexico did not pay for the wall; its leaders have refused since Trump first made his promise.
  • dallasnews.com article
    Mexico never chipped in, and Trump eventually dropped any pretense that it would, but bluster continued Tuesday.
  • c-span.org video Watch
    But unlike those who came before me, I kept my promises. And today we celebrate an extraordinary milestone: the completion of the promised 450 miles of border wall.

Sources: NBC News reliable · dallasnews.com needs a second source · texastribune.org reliable · Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source

Oct 2020 "Mexico is paying" at reelection rallies

CNN reported that in 2016 Trump promised at campaign rallies that Mexico would pay for the border wall. At reelection rallies on Oct 12, 13 and 14, 2020, he said Mexico was already paying for it. CNN's fact-check said Mexico had not contributed any money and the U.S. government was paying for the wall. Some of that money came from Congress, and some was what CNN called "billions of dollars Trump has controversially seized from other programs." At the rallies Trump said a "charge" on cars crossing the border would cover the cost. CNN said he had released no details of any such plan, and the White House declined to explain.

  • rev.com statement
    And by the way, Mexico is paying, they hate to say it
  • rev.com statement
    And Mexico is paying for the wall by the way, you know that
  • CNN article
    Mexico hasn’t contributed any money toward the construction of the border wall.

Sources: CNN reliable · CNN reliable · rev.com needs a second source · ms.now needs a second source

Feb 2020 The "redemption money" claim

The promise: CNN reported that Trump ran for the presidency on a signature promise to make Mexico pay for a giant wall on its own border. Mexico has not paid. The new version: On Feb. 10, at a rally in New Hampshire, he said: "You do know who's paying for the wall, don't you? Redemption from illegal aliens that are coming in," he said. "The redemption money is paying for the wall." AP called this the latest iteration of his effort to convince the public that Mexico is covering the cost, just as he promised throughout his 2016 campaign and since. What had actually been paid by then: According to CNN, Trump is paying for the wall with a combination of US taxpayer money Congress has allocated to the project and funding he is diverting from the military. AP added that, three days after the rally, the Pentagon announced it is taking $3.8 billion approved by Congress for fighter aircraft, ships and other military programs and using the money to pay for the wall.

  • CNN article
    Experts on immigration policy told CNN they had no idea what the term "redemption money" means.
  • Public Broadcasting Service article
    U.S. taxpayers are paying for the wall, not Mexico, as has been the case from the start.
  • rawstory.com article
    At Monday night's rally in New Hampshire, President Donald Trump made a new claim about the border wall
  • c-span.org video Watch
    You do know who's paying for the wall, don't you? Redemption from illegal aliens that are coming in... The redemption money is paying for the wall.

Sources: CNN reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · The Washington Times needs a second source · msnbc.com needs a second source

Feb 2019 National emergency to move U.S. funds to the wall

On Feb. 15, 2019, Trump announced he would declare a national emergency to get money for the border wall. NBC noted he had "originally vow[ed] that Mexico would pay for it." Senior officials said the declaration would give him access to $8 billion in total, all from U.S. sources: $1.375 billion that Congress had approved for fencing in Texas; $600 million from a Treasury drug forfeiture fund; $2.5 billion from a Defense Department drug interdiction program; $3.5 billion from the military construction budget. In the same speech Trump said the USMCA was "where the money is coming from, not directly but indirectly, for the wall." FactCheck.org reported that the White House had given no analysis to back this up, that trade experts said it wasn't possible, and that Congress had not yet approved the USMCA.

  • bostonglobe.com statement
    that's where the money is coming from, not directly but indirectly, for the wall.
  • NBC News article
    despite originally vowing that Mexico would pay for it.
  • factcheck.org article
    the White House has provided no analysis to support the president's claim
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: NBC News reliable · bostonglobe.com needs a second source · factcheck.org reliable · The Washington Post reliable

Dec 2018 – Jan 2019 "Indirectly" through USMCA, and "never meant … write out a check"

On Dec. 13, 2018, Trump tweeted that "MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!" through savings from the new USMCA trade deal. Two days earlier he had threatened a government shutdown unless Congress included $5 billion for the wall (FactCheck.org). FactCheck.org reported that none of his campaign's proposed ways to make Mexico pay "came to pass." Instead, he had asked Congress to fund the wall. The USMCA had been signed on Nov. 30 but not ratified, and the economists FactCheck.org interviewed said the deal could not pay for the wall. On Jan. 10, 2019, during a partial shutdown, Trump said he "never meant" Mexico would "write out a check." PolitiFact rated that False, citing a campaign memo that called for "a one-time payment of $5-10 billion." By then, according to a Washington Post tally cited by Snopes, Trump had said 212 times that Mexico would pay.

  • x.com social post
    Mexico is paying (indirectly) for the Wall through the new USMCA, the replacement for NAFTA!
  • factcheck.org article
    Economic and trade experts we interviewed said that's not possible.
  • PolitiFact article
    obviously, I never said this, and I never meant they're going to write out a check

Sources: factcheck.org reliable · PolitiFact reliable · Snopes reliable · factcheck.org reliable

Aug 2017 Leaked transcript of the Trump–Peña Nieto call

On Aug. 3, 2017, the Washington Post published a transcript of a 53-minute call between President Trump and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto on Jan. 27, 2017. The call took place a day after Peña Nieto cancelled a planned Washington visit. In the call, Trump said "I have to have Mexico pay for the wall — I have to." He also asked Peña Nieto to stop saying publicly that Mexico would not pay. Peña Nieto said Mexico "cannot pay for that wall." By the time the transcript came out, Mexico had paid nothing toward the wall. The only money moving was US taxpayer money: the House had tentatively approved a $1.6 billion down payment, attached to defense spending legislation, which still had to clear the Senate.

  • abc.net.au article
    But you cannot say that to the press. The press is going to go with that and I cannot live with that.
  • talkingpointsmemo.com article
    But my position has been and will continue to be very firm saying that Mexico cannot pay for that wall.
  • cbsnews.com article
    "I have to have Mexico pay for the wall -- I have to," he pressed.

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · abc.net.au needs a second source · talkingpointsmemo.com needs a second source

Jan 2017 Wall executive order and a cancelled summit

On Jan. 25, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13767. It told the Homeland Security secretary to plan and build a wall on the southern border and to "identify and, to the extent permitted by law, allocate all sources of Federal funds" for it. The same day, he told ABC News that U.S. taxpayer money would be used to start building and that Mexico would pay the U.S. back "100 percent." That night, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto said in a video, "I have repeatedly said, 'Mexico will not pay for a wall.'" On Jan. 26, Trump tweeted that if Mexico would not pay, the meeting should be cancelled, and Peña Nieto called off his trip to Washington. Mexico had not agreed to pay, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan said they were planning legislation to designate $12 billion to $15 billion for the project.

  • NPR article
    if Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting
  • ABC News article
    I'm just telling you there will be a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form.
  • CNN article
    By doing it that we can do $10 billion a year and easily pay for the wall just through that mechanism alone.
  • youtube.com video
    transcript

Sources: NPR reliable · ABC News reliable · talkingpointsmemo.com needs a second source · presidency.ucsb.edu reliable

Aug 2016 – Sep 2016 Mexico City meeting and Phoenix speech

On Aug 31, 2016, Republican nominee Donald Trump met Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto in Mexico City. Afterward Trump told reporters that they discussed the wall but not who would pay for it, and that payment would be "for a later date" (NBC, CNN). About two hours after the joint appearance, Peña Nieto tweeted that he had told Trump at the start of their talk that Mexico would not pay for the wall (NPR). That night in Phoenix, Trump said Mexico would pay "100 percent" and that "they don't know it yet" (CNBC). Trump was a candidate at the time. None of these sources reports any payment or funding commitment from Mexico, and Mexico's president had just publicly refused to pay.

  • NBC News article
    We did discuss the wall; we didn’t discuss payment of the wall,
  • NPR article
    about two hours after the joint appearance, Peña Nieto tweeted
  • cnbc.com article
    Mexico will pay for the wall, 100 percent. They don't know it yet
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: NPR reliable · NBC News reliable · cnbc.com reliable · CNN reliable

Apr 2016 Trump memo proposes blocking money transfers to Mexico

On April 5, 2016, Donald Trump's campaign released a two-page memo titled "Compelling Mexico to Pay for the Wall." It said that as president he would threaten to use a rule under the Patriot Act to cut off remittances (money migrants send home) unless Mexico made "a one-time payment of $5-10 billion" for the wall (CNBC; CBS). CNBC called it the first time Trump had explained in detail how he would keep his promise that Mexico would pay. A 2015 campaign position paper had already proposed to "impound all remittance payments derived from illegal wages" (Texas Tribune/WaPo; FactCheck.org). At this point Trump was a candidate, the Republican front-runner, and CBS and CNBC reported that current and former Mexican officials had rejected the idea that Mexico would pay.

  • texastribune.org article
    "It's an easy decision for Mexico," Trump said in the memo
  • cbsnews.com article
    The notion that we're going to track every Western Union bit of money that's being sent to Mexico, you know, good luck with that
  • kpbs.org article
    Mexico will immediately protest
  • youtube.com video

Sources: cnbc.com reliable · cbsnews.com reliable · kpbs.org needs a second source · factcheck.org reliable

Feb 2016 Former Mexican president Fox refuses to pay; Trump hits back

The Washington Post reported that former president Vicente Fox said in a Fusion interview posted on 2016-02-25 that he was "not going to pay for that f------ wall," and that Trump "should pay for it." At that night's Houston debate, ABC reported that Trump blasted Fox "for rebutting the idea that Mexico would pay for the wall." Trump said "The wall just got 10 feet taller" and put the wall's cost at "$10 billion to $12 billion, if I do it." Trump was still a candidate, and ABC noted he "has not released any specific plans for funding or building the wall." TPM reported that sitting president Enrique Peña Nieto had also said Mexico would not pay.

  • The Washington Post article
    "I'm not going to pay for that f------ wall," Fox said in an interview with Fusion's Jorge Ramos
  • x.com social post
    FMR PRES of Mexico, Vicente Fox horribly used the F word when discussing the wall. He must apologize! If I did that there would be a uproar!
  • ABC News article
    "The wall just got 10 feet taller, believe me," Trump said at tonight's Republican debate in Houston.
  • youtube.com video
    I'm not going to pay for that f------ wall.

Sources: The Washington Post reliable · talkingpointsmemo.com needs a second source · ABC News reliable