Donald Trump claims Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is copying his proposal to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border as a measure against illegal immigration.
“I was watching Ted the other day and it was very interesting. He said, ‘And we must build a wall,'” the Republican presidential front-runner told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in a pre-taped interview Wednesday.
“And my wife said, ‘Darling, he just said build a wall,'” Trump said, adding, “I was the first person to say build a wall. I’ve been saying it for five years.”
He continued, this time appearing flattered by Cruz’s recent comments on the campaign trail, although the billionaire suggested he was stronger than Cruz on immigration.
“I’m glad he’s taking my idea — I think it’s the right thing to do,” Trump said. “The problem is, I’ll build the wall and it will be the right wall. These people, politicians, would build the wrong wall. They don’t know how to build anything.”
A spokesman for Cruz’s campaign told Politico Tuesday that Cruz has been considering proposals like a border barrier for “a long time and long before Donald Trump announced his candidacy.”
Trump, who is second in the Washington Examiner’s presidential power rankings, later added that illegal immigrants who are “very good people” should be permitted to reenter the country legally.
“I think you should let them come back,” Trump told CNN. “I want people to come back … I want immigrants to come in, but they have to come in legally.”
“I want a lot of people to come in. I want to have really smart people, really good people, really hard workers come back in, but they have to come in legally, so I want people to come back into the country,” he added.
