Trump denies changing position on border wall

Chief of staff had said thinking on wall had ‘evolved.’

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump directly contradicted his own chief of staff on Thursday and said his position on building a wall between the United States and Mexico had not “evolved.”

Trump’s chief of staff, John F. Kelly, told some Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday that Trump had “evolved” on the issue of the wall, and that the president was not “fully informed” when he promised to build such a barrier last year.

In an early morning Twitter post, Trump took the unusual step of publicly pushing back against his own White House, signaling a disconnect between the president and his staff at a critical time of negotiations with Congress to avoid a government shutdown.

He wrote: “The Wall is the Wall, it has never changed or evolved from the first day I conceived of it. Parts will be, of necessity, see through and it was never intended to be built in areas where there is natural protection such as mountains, wastelands or tough rivers or water ..... ”

He continued: “.... The Wall will be paid for, directly or indirectly, or through longer term reimbursement, by Mexico, which has a ridiculous $71 billion dollar trade surplus with the U.S. The $20 billion dollar Wall is “peanuts” compared to what Mexico makes from the U.S. NAFTA is a bad joke!”

Kelly’s comments on Wednesday, which he made at a meeting with members of the Hispanic Caucus, were unusual as well. It is rare to see a White House chief of staff undercut a president’s public statements. During the presidential campaign, Trump pledged to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. Such a wall is estimated to cost billions of dollars. In one of his Twitter posts on Thursday, Trump restated his intention that Mexico would foot the bill.

But during a factory visit in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania, Trump praised his chief of staff. “He is great, I think he is doing a great job,” Trump said of Kelly. “I think General Kelly is doing a really great job. He is a very special guy.”

Trump’s effusive praise of his chief of staff came during a visit to Pennsylvania where he was appearing to promote his tax cut and boost Rick Saccone, a Republican state legislator running for Congress in a special election in March.

Asked whether he minded Kelly telling lawmakers he had not been fully informed about immigration, Trump said: “No, he did not say that. He didn’t say it the way you would like him to say it.”

But according to one person familiar with the president’s thinking, Trump was livid when he learned that Kelly had described him as “evolving” in his immigration position. Throughout the evening on Wednesday, Trump fielded calls from allies who described Kelly’s comments to Congress as undermining the president, stoking Trump’s fury.

The president — who never likes it when someone characterizes his thinking — vented his anger to Kelly and to allies, according to the person familiar with the president’s thinking.