# Donald Trumps Wall

> Donald Trump's Wall is a 2015 political meme born from Trump's campaign promise to build a US-Mexico border wall, defined by call-and-response chants ("Who's going to pay?" / "Mexico!") and the 2019 "Wall Is Coming" Instagram post.

"Donald Trump's Wall" is a political catchphrase meme originating from Donald Trump's June 2015 presidential campaign announcement, where he pledged to build a massive wall along the US-Mexico border and make Mexico pay for it[12]. The promise spawned years of internet satire, exploitable meme templates, and call-and-response rally chants ("Who's going to pay for it?" / "Mexico!"), peaking during the 2018-2019 government shutdown when Trump himself posted a Game of Thrones-inspired "The Wall Is Coming" meme on Instagram[2]. The gap between the grandiose promise and its practical realities made it one of the most memed political proposals of the 2010s.

## Origin
On June 16, 2015, Donald Trump descended the escalator at Trump Tower to announce his presidential candidacy. Among his first promises was the construction of a border wall. "I would build a great wall. And nobody builds walls better than me, believe me," he told the crowd. "I will build a great great wall on our southern border and I'll have Mexico pay for that wall"[12]. The proposal was tied to inflammatory rhetoric about Mexican immigrants, and the wall quickly became the single most recognizable policy pledge of his campaign[6].

The promise had a built-in meme structure from day one. At rallies, Trump would ask the crowd "Who's going to pay for it?" and supporters would shout back "Mexico!" in a call-and-response format[18]. Mexican leaders pushed back immediately and consistently. Former Mexican President Vicente Fox Quesada tweeted "Mexico is not going to pay for that f*****g wall," and sitting President Enrique Peña Nieto repeated that Mexico would never fund the project[18].

- **Platform:** Trump Tower campaign announcement (source), Twitter / Facebook / Instagram (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Donald Trump (originator of catchphrase), White House social media team ("The Wall Is Coming" meme), community-created (satirical memes)
- **Date:** 2015

## Overview
"Donald Trump's Wall" refers to the sprawling meme ecosystem that grew around Trump's signature 2016 campaign promise to construct a physical barrier along the entire US-Mexico border. The proposal itself was specific enough to mock ("30 feet high," "beautiful," must "look good from the US side") and vague enough to satirize endlessly (who pays, how it works, what it's made of). The meme took multiple forms: the "Build the Wall" rally chant became a cultural shorthand, the wall's listed requirements became exploitable templates, and Trump's own meme posts about the wall blurred the line between politics and shitposting. Both supporters who saw it as a symbol of border security and critics who saw it as absurd political theater fueled its spread.

## How It Spread
The wall meme moved through several distinct phases across platforms.

**2015-2016: Campaign Season Memes.** As Trump's candidacy gained traction, the wall became prime material for both pro-Trump meme accounts and satirical commentary. In March 2016, John Oliver dedicated a full segment of *Last Week Tonight* to dismantling the wall's feasibility, pointing out that Trump's own cost estimates kept climbing from $4 billion to $12 billion, while independent estimates put the real number at $25 billion or more[10]. Oliver joked that a 50-foot wall being defeated by "maybe a rope" meant Trump's "brilliant plan has been undone by mankind's third invention"[10]. The segment went viral and became one of the most-shared political comedy clips of the cycle.

**2017: The "Look Good" Requirements.** After Trump took office, the White House released official design requirements for the wall. Among them: it had to be 30 feet high, "difficult to climb or cut through," and had to "look good" from the United States side[16]. Fox News aired the requirements in a chyron that read like satire but wasn't. Twitter users immediately turned the list into an exploitable template, photoshopping elaborate and absurd wall designs that technically met the specifications[15]. NY Magazine's Select All column documented the meme wave, noting that the "hot and tall wall" requirements were irresistible to the internet[16].

Also in January 2017, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested paying for the wall through a 20% tax on Mexican imports, sparking the "avocado tax" meme controversy. Spicer later walked back the statement as merely "illustrative," but the damage was done. Senator Lindsey Graham tweeted: "Simply put, any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad"[14]. Economists pointed out that such a tax would ultimately fall on American consumers, not Mexico[1].

**2018-2019: Government Shutdown and "The Wall Is Coming."** The meme reached peak intensity during the 35-day government shutdown, the longest in US history, triggered by Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in wall funding[13]. On the 12th day of the shutdown, Trump posted a meme on Instagram showing his face looming over the desert with a rendering of the wall, captioned "The Wall Is Coming" in the Game of Thrones font[2]. The New York Times noted it appeared to be "a White House original" and was the second Game of Thrones meme the president had shared in two months[2]. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer responded on Twitter with what the Times described as the energy of "an exasperated high school teacher": "Enough with the memes"[2].

**2019: The $100 Saw.** In late 2019, the Washington Post reported that Mexican smuggling gangs had been sawing through new wall sections using commercially available reciprocating saws costing about $100[7]. This came shortly after Trump had boasted the wall was "virtually impenetrable" and compared it to "the Rolls-Royce" of walls, and that even professional mountain climbers couldn't scale it[7]. The story generated a wave of mocking memes, as did Trump's gaffe about "building a wall in Colorado," which he later claimed was a joke[7].

## How to Use
The wall meme takes several common forms:

- **"Build the Wall" chant format:** Used sincerely at political rallies or ironically online to mock any proposed simple solution to a complex problem. People sometimes apply it to trivial situations ("My roommate keeps eating my food. Build the wall between our shelves").

- **"The Wall Is Coming" template:** Borrowed from Game of Thrones' "Winter Is Coming" format. Typically used to announce something ominous, overhyped, or perpetually delayed.

- **Wall requirements exploitable:** Take the real design requirements (30 feet high, hard to climb, must "look good") and photoshop an absurd design that technically meets them. Common versions include ornate castle walls, decorative fences, and famous architectural landmarks[15][16].

- **"Who's going to pay for it?" call-and-response:** Used as a punchline structure for any expensive, dubious proposal.

- **Avocado/consumer price jokes:** Reference the idea that American shoppers would end up paying for the wall through higher prices on Mexican imports like avocados, tequila, and margaritas[14].

## Cultural Impact
The wall meme was unusual because it was driven from the top down. A sitting president was posting memes about his own policy. The New York Times' 2019 magazine piece "All the President's Memes" called it "impossible to overstate how peculiar it is that the most powerful man in the world, who will turn 73 in June, posts memes"[2]. Trump's 2016 campaign had united "message-board trolls and Facebook boomers" who believed their "meme magic" helped win the election[2].

The wall also generated serious policy journalism that itself became viral content. John Oliver's *Last Week Tonight* segment was one of the most-shared political comedy pieces of 2016[10]. Vox's explainer on the border adjustment tax reached audiences far beyond typical policy readership[11]. Engineer Amy Patrick's structural analysis went viral on Facebook, reaching people who would never normally read engineering assessments[8].

The Urban Dictionary entry for "Donald Trump's Wall" reflected the internet's verdict with definitions like "a waste of time, effort, and money"[5].

## Fun Facts
- Trump's "The Wall Is Coming" Instagram post was confirmed by the New York Times to be a White House original, not a retweet from a supporter[2].
- Senator Lindsey Graham's tweet calling an import tax "Mucho Sad" became its own minor meme, blending policy criticism with Trump's signature "Sad!" tweet sign-off[14].
- The Congressional Budget Office estimated wall maintenance costs would exceed initial construction costs within seven years. John Oliver compared this to "getting a pet walrus"[10].
- There were more than two dozen active national emergencies in the US at the time Trump considered declaring one for the wall, including some dating back to the 1979 Iran hostage crisis[13].
- Trump's cost estimate for the wall steadily tripled over the course of his campaign, from $4 billion to $12 billion, before independent analysts pegged it at $25 billion or higher[10][12].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Donald Trump's Wall?
Donald Trump's Wall refers to the proposed physical barrier along the entire US-Mexico border, first announced during Trump's June 2015 presidential campaign kickoff. It became one of the most memed political proposals of the decade[12].

### Where did the Donald Trump's Wall meme come from?
The meme originated from Trump's campaign announcement speech at Trump Tower on June 16, 2015, where he promised to build a "great wall" and have Mexico pay for it[12].

### What does the Donald Trump's Wall meme mean?
It's used to reference grandiose promises with questionable follow-through, or as shorthand for simplistic solutions to complex problems. Supporters used it as a rallying symbol for border security[18][6].

### How do you use the Donald Trump's Wall meme?
Common formats include the "Build the Wall" chant applied ironically, Game of Thrones-style "The Wall Is Coming" edits, and photoshopped wall designs based on the official "must look good" requirements[2][16].

### Is Donald Trump's Wall meme still popular?
The meme peaked during the 2018-2019 government shutdown. With Trump back in office as of 2025, border wall discourse returned to public conversation, though the original meme formats from 2016-2019 see less frequent use[4].

### Did Mexico pay for the wall?
No. Despite Trump's repeated campaign promise, Mexico consistently refused. American taxpayers funded the construction, with approximately $10 billion spent by late 2019[7][12].

### How much was the wall supposed to cost?
Trump's estimates ranged from $4 billion to $12 billion during the campaign. Independent analyses and the Congressional Budget Office estimated the real cost at $25 billion or more, excluding maintenance[10].

### What were the official wall requirements?
The White House specified the wall must be 30 feet high, difficult to climb or cut through, and must "look good" from the United States side. These requirements became a popular meme template in March 2017[16][15].

### Did Trump post memes about the wall himself?
Yes. During the government shutdown in January 2019, Trump posted a Game of Thrones-styled "The Wall Is Coming" meme on Instagram, confirmed by the New York Times as a White House creation[2].

### How did smugglers get through the wall?
In 2019, the Washington Post reported that Mexican gangs used commercially available reciprocating saws costing about $100 to cut through sections in minutes. Makeshift ladders were also used to go over new sections[7].

### What was the avocado tax controversy?
In January 2017, Press Secretary Sean Spicer suggested a 20% import tax on Mexican goods to fund the wall, leading to widespread jokes about Americans paying more for avocados, tequila, and margaritas. Spicer later walked the proposal back as "illustrative"[14][11].

### What was the government shutdown about?
The 35-day shutdown from December 2018 to January 2019, the longest in US history, was triggered by Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in congressional funding for the wall, which Democrats refused to approve[13].

### Did Trump declare a national emergency for the wall?
Trump threatened to declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and redirect military construction funds to the wall. Legal experts debated the move's constitutionality, and it faced court challenges[13][17].

## References
1. [International – Donald Marron](<https://dmarron.com/category/international/>)
2. [All the President’s Memes - The New York Times](<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/magazine/all-the-presidents-memes.html>)
3. [Joe Scarborough’s Analogy About Donald Trump’s Wall Rhetoric May Make You Gag | HuffPost Latest News](<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joe-scarborough-donald-trump-wall-strategy-analogy_n_5c543c70e4b0bdf0e7da699b>)
4. [Second presidency of Donald Trump](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_presidency_of_Donald_Trump>)
5. [Donald Trump's Wall - Urban Dictionary](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Donald%20Trump%27s%20Wall>)
6. [Political positions of Donald Trump - Wikipedia](<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Donald_Trump#U.S..E2.80.93Mexico_border_wall_proposal>)
7. [Smugglers Use Household Tool to Easily Penetrate Trump’s Wall](<https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/household-tool-trump-wall-907452/>)
8. [This Engineer Is An Actual Wall Expert And She Just Destroyed Trump’s Wall Proposal In One Post | Bored Panda](<https://www.boredpanda.com/actual-engineer-wall-explanation-amy-patrick/>)
9. [No Need to Build Donald Trump's Wall -- It's Already Built](<https://therealnews.com/no-need-to-build-donald-trumps-wall-its-already-built>)
10. [Watch: John Oliver Hilariously Demolishes Donald Trump's Wall](<https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2016/03/watch_john_oliver_hilariously_demolishes_donald_trump_s_wall/>)
11. [Donald Trump Isn’t a Fascist; He’s a Media-Savvy Know-Nothing | The New Yorker](<https://www.newyorker.com/news/john-cassidy/donald-trump-isnt-a-fascist-hes-a-media-savvy-know-nothing>)
12. [Donald Trump’s “paying for the wall by hiking prices on avocados” controversy, explained | Vox](<https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/27/14406158/corporate-tax-border-adjustable-dbcft-trump>)
13. [Donald Trump is backing off his signature "build the wall" campaign promise - Salon.com](<https://www.salon.com/2016/10/24/donald-trump-is-backing-off-his-signature-build-the-wall-campaign-promise/>)
14. [Trump has threatened to declare a national emergency to get his border wall — but will that work? - Los Angeles Times](<https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-trump-national-emergency-20190108-story.html>)
15. [Trump floats 20% tax on Mexican imports to pay for wall | CNN Politics](<https://edition.cnn.com/2017/01/26/politics/donald-trump-mexico-import-tax-border-wall/index.html>)
16. [Requirements For Trump's Border Wall Turned Into Memes](<https://www.elitedaily.com/news/politics/trump-border-wall-requirements-new-meme/1831377>)
17. [Trump Border-Wall 'Look Good' Requirement Memes](<https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/03/trump-border-wall-look-good-requirement-memes.html>)
18. [Congress Could Block A Border Wall If Trump Declares A National Emergency : NPR](<https://www.npr.org/2019/02/11/693128901/if-trump-declares-an-emergency-to-build-the-wall-congress-can-block-him?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=politics&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190214>)
19. [Donald Trump Mexican wall memes erupt on Twitter as leaders continue to insist they will never pay a penny towards it](<https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/2712119/donald-trump-mexico-wall-memes/>)

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