Trump is building a ‘smart wall’ on border. Here’s what that means

Published October 19, 2025 6:00am ET



President Donald Trump is swiftly moving forward with a keystone campaign promise from his first term: to build the border wall

Within six months of returning to the White House, Trump has been able to acquire nearly $5 billion in congressional funding to finish the border wall he first set out to construct in 2017 but did not complete before leaving office in 2021.

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