If you believe Trump, he’s worth $10 billion.  If you believe Trump, there’s a crisis at the border that requires a wall with an initial cost of $5.7 billion.  And if you believe Trump, Mexico will pay to build that wall.  If you believe Trump.

We’ve spent three years discussing whether we’ll build a wall, whether we need a wall, and who would pay for a wall.  We’ve endured the longest government shutdown in American history at the barrel of this particular gun.  The concept has changed – the Wall is no longer a wall, exactly – and it’s been a while since I’ve heard anyone mention any nation other than our own funding this wall-like barrier.  Indeed, Trump’s promise has evolved from “Mexico will pay” to “Mexico will pay us back” as he grovels for an allocation of funds from Congress.

But if Trump is really worth $10 billion, and we really do need the wall and Mexico really will pay back the cost of building it, why can’t Trump just pay for Trump’s wall?  Doesn’t our brilliant Businessman-in-Chief know a good investment when he sees one?

I know, I know.  It’s not really Trump’s Wall.  It’s America’s Wall.  And that means America should flip the bill (at least until Mexico cuts us a check…any day now, I’m sure).  But phrases like “America’s money” are a little misleading.  More accurately, it’s the American People’s money Trump is asking for.  Most of it comes from income taxes, so it’s our money – yours and mine.  If Trump doesn’t have enough faith in his own promises to put up his own money, why should we have enough faith to let him put up ours?  Well, it seems most of us don’t.  About 60 to 65% of Americans, depending on which poll you look at, oppose building a wall along the border.  But of course we live in a democracy, and that means the person we’ve elected by only slightly less than a majority of the popular vote knows better than we do.  And that’s why Trump, wealth-blessed patriot as he is, should protect us from the crisis at the border by doing two things we know he’s good at – ignoring what we think, and showing off his wealth with an extravagant eyesore of a development project.

So if you believe Trump there is an obvious solution that requires no budgetary concession from the Democrats.  If you believe Trump.