Trump Just Compared His Idea To Put ICE Agents In Airports To The Invention Of The Paper Clip—And, What?

Speaking to reporters about whose idea it was to deploy ICE agents to U.S. airports amid a partial government shutdown that has caused exceptionally long delays at TSA lines nationwide, President Donald Trump weirded people out when he compared the decision to the invention of the paper clip.

Samuel B. Fay patented the first bent-wire paper clip in 1867—about 159 years ago. The now-familiar “Gem” paper clip design commonly sold in office supply stores appeared around 1892, roughly 134 years ago, and was never patented in the United States.

But Trump made this weird claim while taking full credit for sending ICE to airports:

"Mine, that was all mine. That was like the paper clip. You know the story of the paper clip? 182 years ago, a man discovered the paper clip. It was so simple. And everybody that looked at it said, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ ICE was my idea.”

"I called... the first person I called was [border czar] Tom Homan. I said, 'What do you think?' He said, 'I think it's great.'"

You can hear what he said in the video below.

The mockery was swift.

ICE agents are still getting paid during the shutdown, unlike TSA agents, who are currently working unpaid and struggling amid the affordability crisis. News outlets have confirmed ICE agents have been deployed in airports that serve Democratic strongholds, particularly John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia Airports (New York), O'Hare International Airport (Chicago), and others.

And while Trump says it was his idea to deploy ICE agents to airports, a caller known as “Linda from Arizona” may have inadvertently sparked the idea for the deployment.

During a call to The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show last Friday, she suggested a solution to long TSA lines: “We need to bring in ICE agents.” Co-host Clay Travis responded that the idea sounded “kind of brilliant.”

About a day later, Trump publicly floated a plan to send ICE agents to airports. Before that announcement, Travis had appeared on one of Trump’s favored Fox News programs and personally pitched the proposal on air.

A review of television transcript databases found no other mentions of the concept on major networks before Travis raised it. When ICE agents began appearing at airports Monday in what officials described as an unusual assignment, Travis said he believed the caller’s suggestion had played a role, adding, “I don’t think there’s any doubt” the radio call helped inspire the move.