Trump just gave the most hilariously pathetic explanation for how Mexico is going to “pay” for his wall

President Trump is straining beneath the weight of his own monumental failures. Almost two years into his administration he has no successes to show.

He loves to tout his massive tax cuts as a success, but they did little more than funnel more wealth to the top 1% at the expense of the rest of the country. One of his Supreme Court appointees is a probable sexual predator and the entire country knows it. Trump and his cronies are mired in an investigation that continues to yield convictions. On the international stage, he has done nothing but shred the United States’ hard-earned reputation.

Most glaringly, the centerpiece of his xenophobic 2016 election campaign, the Mexican border wall, hasn’t been built and seems like it never will be. Just this week, Trump threw a fit in the Oval Office, threatening to shut down the federal government if the Democrats refuse to fund his little wall.

Trump, who promised that he’d force Mexico to pay for the wall, has now clearly accepted that if he ever builds it (an increasingly slim possibility) the financial burden will be solely carried by the American taxpayers.

Since it’s Trump though, he has to spin this reality into something that his clueless supporters can latch onto and hold up as a win. To that effect, Trump took to Twitter this morning to make the absurd claim that Mexico is indeed paying for the non-existent wall, but in a roundabout way.

Trump claimed that the new NAFTA deal, called the USMCA, is “so much better” than NAFTA that the United States will save enough money to build the wall. As usual, this is Trump inventing numbers and facts out of thin air.

There is no evidence that the new deal will offset the cost of the wasteful wall. More importantly, a better trade deal doesn’t change the fact that the money that would pay for the wall would be coming from taxpayers. Trade is not the same as tax revenue.

Even if U.S. industries do grow stronger because of the deal, that doesn’t necessarily equate to increased federal revenues. Trump isn’t just comparing apples to oranges, he’s juicing up apples, handing it to us, and calling it orange juice.

Mexico is not paying for the wall. Trump is an abject failure.

I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018