— Philip Rucker, Carol LeonnigTrump concurred and, turning to Nielsen at the far end of the table, asked, “Why haven’t you shut down the border?” It was more of an admonition than a question. Nielsen knew this would be illegal, not to mention economically disastrous because it could choke off trade routes. “I’m not sure what we are saying here,” Nielsen said. “As the attorney general knows, people have a legal right to cross the border and try to claim asylum. That’s just the law.” Trump looked back at Sessions. “No,” Sessions said, “we should just shut the border down.” Trump then lit into Nielsen.
Replicated under Fair Use from A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America by Philip Rucker, Carol Leonnig.