Since the start of the 2016 campaign, former President Donald Trump promised his followers a "big, beautiful wall" at the southern border—a move he said would stem the "invasion" of immigrants from Mexico, whom he falsely claimed would pay for the wall.
Despite his lies about the wall's construction, only 15 miles of new wall was built over the course of his time in office.
Trump frequently touted the supposed strength of the wall and promised to spare no expense, saying on the campaign trail in 2015:
"I would build a great wall, and nobody builds walls better than me, believe me, and I'll build them very inexpensively, I will build a great, great wall on our southern border."
But like Trump steaks, Trump University, and a litany of other failures bearing the former President's name, the reality of the wall never amounted up to Trump's fanciful promises.
That was most recently proven near Douglas, Arizona, where photos by Fernando Sobrazo of the Cuenca Los Ojos environmental group showed heavy monsoons left Trump's beloved border wall in shambles.
Trump's boasts about the wall's strength literally didn't hold water.
Silver Creek near San Bernardino NWR. Monsoon storm leave gates in disrepair. #BorderWallpic.twitter.com/6F1IkNK8zo— Kate Scott (@Kate Scott) 1629406175
It's worth noting that when the Trump administration began its effort to build the wall in 2017, the Department of Homeland Security waived dozens of environmental laws in order to speed up the process—a move that soon got it slapped with an unsuccessful lawsuit.
People saw the destruction as yet another failure for a historically unpopular administration.
$15 billion for a wall that can't resist water. This is easily the most pathetic symbol of xenophobia in America.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Fifty Shades of Whey (@Fifty Shades of Whey) 1629563731
The thing about a wall across the entire border is that there are these things called \u201crivers\u201d and they occasionally do this thing called \u201cflood.\u201dhttps://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@Aaron Reichlin-Melnick) 1629411925
Such a unneeded, costly stunt. No one on the border is surprised by its failure.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— MakeAmericaNorwegianAgain (@MakeAmericaNorwegianAgain) 1629416184
I've seen Houses of Cards with more stability.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Race Cooper (he/him) (@Race Cooper (he/him)) 1629593323
Imagine building schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, viable water sources with the billions of dollars that were wasted here.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— I\u2019m not paying for this shit! (@I\u2019m not paying for this shit!) 1629570230
The construction contractor got $646 million from the Pentagon in 2019, and another $524 million in 2020 to build this border wall. The project also created a water emergency in the nearby wildlife refuge.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Michael Paarlberg (@Michael Paarlberg) 1629729695
Apparently nature herself wasn't even a supporter of the wall, they joked.
Mother Nature says #NoMoreWallshttps://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Johana (@Johana) 1629479880
Where there\u2019s a wall, there\u2019s nature\u2019s way.https://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— ThePabloVerse (@ThePabloVerse) 1629467310
Even Mother Nature thought it a bad idea lolhttps://twitter.com/madreanwildlife/status/1428459151710060545\u00a0\u2026— Tucker johnson (@Tucker johnson) 1629415076
Yikes.