[Summary]
On Tuesday, Trump said he was willing to take the risk of closing the border, effectively cutting off trade with one of the United States’ largest trading partners and shutting down an important international commerce hub.
“Sure, it will have a negative effect on the economy,” he told reporters at the time. “It's a very big trading partner. But to me, trading is very important, the borders are very important, but security is what is most important. I mean we have to have security.”
In recent days his aides, including his top economic advisers Kevin Hassett and Larry Kudlow, have implored him to consider what the move would cost while elsewhere in the administration they have looked for ways to limit the impact while carrying out his request.
Trump appeared Thursday to have heeded those warnings, though he also claimed that his threats alone had paid off.
“So for the last four days, and you actually have covered it to a minor extent, Mexico has been capturing people and bringing them back to their countries at their southern border,” he said.
“They've been taking people under their very powerful laws — they have the right to do it — and bringing them back to where they came from. That is about three days now, I guess, since frankly since they heard I was going to close the border.”
The White House has been adamant that Trump is not bluffing about shuttering the border, which the president reiterated Thursday.
“I will do it. You know I will do it, I don't play games, I'll do it,” he told reporters. But he suggested that tariffs would be a strong-enough motivator.
“Mexico understands that we're going to close the border or I’m gonna tariff the cars — I’ll do one or the other, and probably start off with the tariffs, that’ll be a very powerful incentive.”