Trump brings up the border wall in his speech in Kentucky and claims Mexico is paying for it through tariffs: ‘Call up the president of Mexico’

During a speech in Kentucky, President Donald Trump told the crowd that Mexico has covered the cost of the border wall. He said the money came from tariffs that far exceed what the wall itself cost, and he added that he likes it that way.

Trump pushed back on media accounts of the project. He said the fake news likes to claim he built the wall without Mexico paying, then told listeners that all anyone needs to do is call up the president of Mexico. He also joked that renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America counted as another form of payment.

As people in the audience waved American flags and signs, Trump offered numbers on coastal frontage. He stated that the United States holds 92 or 93 percent of the frontage while Mexico has about 7 to 7.5 percent. He put it this way: “Now, you know, it’s interesting though, but for years I’ve looked and we have 92, 93% of the frontage and they have about 7, 7.5% to be exact.”

Miles of wall completed and still under construction

In his full remarks on the tariffs, Trump said, “They pay massive tariffs, far greater than the cost of the wall, and I like it that way. So let’s get that straight, because the fake news loves to say, oh, he built the wall, he built the wall, but Mexico paid. All you have to do is call up the president of Mexico. Did I even – look, I mean, not only did they pay; I even called the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America. Okay, that’s a form of payment.”

Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection as of August 19 show that the current administration has added about 64 miles of new primary wall and replaced about 39 miles during Trump’s second term. According to WBAL TV, the work is backed by $46.5 billion allocated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed in July 2025. 

The contractors building the wall have also faced scrutiny. In June, The Washington Post reported that two firms with ties to the White House and the GOP secured the largest share of more than $19 billion in border wall contracts awarded over the previous six months.

Before Trump first took office in 2017, roughly 654 miles of various fencing already stood along the border in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. About 51 miles of secondary wall, the extra barrier that runs beside the primary one, have gone up under the present administration.

The wall Trump first promised as a candidate now covers about 38 percent of the full 1,954-mile border, or roughly 750 miles in total. Some of those miles date from before his first term. In that earlier term, he added about 87 new miles and replaced 371 miles of older barrier.

Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama oversaw about 654 miles of wall before Trump’s first term, including roughly 345 miles of pedestrian fence and about 300 miles of vehicle barriers. CBP figures from August 19 list about 747 miles of primary wall and 126 miles of secondary wall now in place.

The Rio Grande forms a natural barrier along much of the border. The administration has installed about 26 miles of linked floating buoys as a waterborne system, with more than 500 additional miles either under construction or planned.

CBP also reports that about 308 miles of new primary wall are under construction, plans for 255 more miles have been awarded, and 525 miles of secondary wall are under construction or planned. A CBP spokesperson said border wall construction is planned for completion in 2028. 

Mexico has never directly paid for the U.S. border wall. In 2017, then-Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto reiterated his opposition to the project, saying, “I’ve said time and again; Mexico won’t pay for any wall,” according to the BBC. He also condemned the decision to continue construction, arguing that the wall had “divided us instead of uniting us.” He added, “Mexico doesn’t believe in walls.”