Arizona Sen. John McCain: Not ‘viable option’ for Mexico to pay for border wall
Feb 3, 2017, 4:55 PM
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., followed by Sen. Cory A. Booker, D-N.J., arrive on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, Feb. 3, 2017, as lawmakers gathered for a predawn vote to advance the nomination of Education Secretary-designate Betsy DeVos. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
(AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
PHOENIX — Mexico will not pay for a border wall with the U.S. because it is not a “viable option,” Arizona Sen. John McCain pointedly said Friday.
In an interview with CNN’s Manu Raju on Friday, McCain said directly that he does not believe it is a “viable option” for Mexico to pay for the border wall.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order to start construction on the wall in January and has repeatedly insisted Mexico will pay back taxpayers in full for the cost of the wall, something Mexican officials have repeatedly said they will not do.
McCain, who is poised to be Trump’s biggest Republican opponent during his presidency, has spoken out in the past and said a border wall will not be enough to secure the border, something he reiterated during his interview Friday.
“If you only build a wall…without using technology, individuals, drones, observation, etc., you’re not going to secure the border,” McCain said.
This wasn’t McCain’s first run-in of the week with Raju: The Republican senator pranked the reporter during his live shot by throwing up the horns while Raju was on camera.
