Trump says he 'never meant Mexico would write a check' for the wall
But on the campaign trail, Trump appeared to make that argument. A March 2016 memo to Washington Post reporters explained multiple ways to "compel Mexico" to "make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion" to keep the U.S. from cutting off the spigot of money it already sends to Mexico annually.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/10/trump-says-mexico-is-not-going-to-write-a-check-for-the-wall-contradicting-campaign-pledge.html
But on the campaign trail, Trump appeared to make that argument. A March 2016 memo to Washington Post reporters explained multiple ways to "compel Mexico" to "make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion" to keep the U.S. from cutting off the spigot of money it already sends to Mexico annually.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/10/trump-says-mexico-is-not-going-to-write-a-check-for-the-wall-contradicting-campaign-pledge.html