Trump vows to reclaim border wall materials that Joe Biden auctioned off 'for pennies on the dollar'

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump vowed Wednesday, August 13, to reclaim and complete the border wall using materials auctioned off by the Joe Biden administration “for pennies on the dollar.”

Speaking at the Kennedy Center after announcing the recipients of the annual Kennedy Center Honors, Trump described the sale as a “shame” and accused the previous administration of favoring open borders.

Donald Trump promises to reclaim sold border wall materials

Asked about reports that parts of the wall would be returned to the federal government, Trump said, “We are taking that wall back.”

He criticized the Biden administration’s sale of expensive steel, concrete, and rebar panels, describing the materials in detail: “This is expensive stuff. Hardened steel, very expensive. 9,000-pound concrete and rebar. Rebar is very expensive. The hardest rebar — it’s very hard to cut. You have different materials. It’s very hard to cut. They cut it down if they can, but it’s very hard to cut.”

He added, “Biden sold it for pennies on the dollar — $0.03 on the dollar, $0.04 on the dollar — he sold it.”

Trump credited attorney Pam Bondi for pursuing legal action, stating:

“Well, Pam Bondi has been working very hard on suing that company, and I think they’ve reached a settlement where we’re taking the wall back.”

He noted the high cost of the original construction, saying, “They stole the wall from us. That wall was so expensive to build. And we had, as you know, hundreds of miles of it. They came along and they basically sold it for scrap. What a shame that is.”

He also criticized the administration’s approach to immigration.

“That was when I first realized these people actually want to have open borders. No country — even poor countries — has open borders. We had open borders where people just walked in. It didn’t matter what they looked like or who they were. We had 11,888 murderers — half of whom killed more than one person. Literally. And this is who we took into our country. So the wall is the least of it,” he said.

Reaffirming his commitment, Trump said: “We are going to take the wall back. We are paying a small amount of money, as I understand it, to get it back and to end the litigation. We’ll take it back and we’ll put it up.”

Public reacts to Trump reclaiming auctioned border wall materials

Online reactions poured in following President Trump’s announcement to reclaim auctioned border wall materials.

One user wrote, “It's been 205 days. I thought the sections of auctioned border wall would be in our (taxpayer owned) possession now. 'We are now taking that wall back...' makes it sound as if we don't have any of it yet. Do we?”

Another added, “That kind of flagrant waste of tax dollars just goes to show you how little Democrats actually care about their constituents.”

Some expressed support for Trump’s efforts, with one saying, “Wow, great for the country,” while another commented, “Get it done at the best deal possible.”

Others highlighted the practical impact, noting, “It sounds like there’s a strong focus on recovering valuable resources and moving forward with border security efforts. Reclaiming materials and accelerating construction could certainly help make progress quickly. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the coming weeks.”

Critics of the Biden administration were harsher: “It was done deliberately by the Biden administration to facilitate illegal immigration. The entire Biden administration should stand trial for treason!”

Meanwhile, supporters emphasized safety, with one writing, “Reclaiming border wall is essential to protect American citizens from the violence and brutality of illegal immigrants. Thank you, President Trump, for making our safety a priority.”

Donald Trump highlights border wall construction and security features

Trump outlined the original construction of the border wall, emphasizing specifications requested by Border Patrol and ICE.

He said, “I built hundreds of miles of wall and I was getting very close. I actually finished the wall, but then I added another 200 miles. I got it to the specifications of the Border Patrol and ICE — they wanted steel, they wanted concrete inside, they wanted rebar inside that, and they wanted it to have wires. The walls are wired for all the internet and security systems.”

He stressed the wall’s impact on immigration control.

“We built it — hundreds of miles. We did great. That’s one of the reasons even now we have such good [illegal immigration] numbers — essentially zero, very few people coming in. I was going to do another 200 miles because that’s the way it is. We were all set to do it, and then we had the bad election result. Horrible, horrible what happened to our country, and what they’ve allowed to happen to our country,” he said.

GovPlanet, the government auction site that listed the wall segments, confirmed it is working with the administration to expedite the return of materials.

“GovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,” the company said. “We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administration’s border protection plans.”

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