Engineer: Trump's wall is implausible

[Luddly Neddite]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

For example:

"Twelve million, six hundred thousand cubic yards. In other words, this wall would contain over three times the amount of concrete used to build the Hoover Dam — a project that, unlike Trump’s wall, has qualitative, verifiable economic benefits.


Such a wall would be greater in volume than all six pyramids of the Giza Necropolis — and it is unlikely that a concrete slab in the town of Dead Dog Valley, Texas would inspire the same timeless sense of wonder.


That quantity of concrete could pave a one-lane road from New York to Los Angeles, going the long way around the Earth, which would probably be just as useful."

 

[Weatherman2020]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Then there's this -

Trump Wises Up, Abandons His Improbably Large Wall

 

[Vigilante]

Well if you use Trumps TAX PLAN to collect 10% from the $24.4 BILLION sent back to Mexico last year, and build a wall like this in Israel, it should be accomplished about the time Trump starts a second term!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

So you disagree with the points made by the engineer?

Please elaborate.

 

[Auld Phart]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Great Wall is 13,171 miles long.

Is our southern border longer than that?

 

[Publius1787]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Moreover we aren't even asking that they make it out of stone. In fact we aren't even requiring that we can walk on the wall. Nor are we asking that it span 13,000 miles. I could go behind a Home Depot, hire a few illegals, and have it done in record speed at a fraction of the cost before I shoved them over to the other side of the wall.

 

[Bruce_T_Laney]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

I do not need to read your thread to say Trump can build all the walls he want and that same contractor that built the wall would build the tunnels for free...

The Wall is stupid and fixing the economy and corruption in Mexico would do more to stem the illegal immigration but let not discuss something that take thinking!

 

[Publius1787]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

So you disagree with the points made by the engineer?

Please elaborate.

If the engineer made any points you highlighted none of them. You simply said "Look, he's an engineer," and pointed at some ad-homonyms. According to your very own op the engineer made no points. Don't ask someone to argue against what doesn't exist.

 

[Bruce_T_Laney]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Great Wall is 13,171 miles long.

Is our southern border longer than that?

No, but how many tunnels run under the great wall versus how many would runner under our border. I know we are more intelligent and can answer this problem with a better solution than a wall...

 

[Weatherman2020]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

So you disagree with the points made by the engineer?

Please elaborate.

You must be under 35. No ambition or imagination. I'm from a generation that went from putting a man in space for the very first time to walking on the moon in just 8 years.

No elaboration required. Chinese did it 2,700 years ago in much more rugged terrain.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Great Wall is 13,171 miles long.

Is our southern border longer than that?

How Long It Took to Built the Great Wall of China

It is actually a complicated question. There are several Great Walls that were built by different dynasties such as the Qin Great Wall and the better known Ming Great Wall. But there are estimates about the number of laborers and records for how many years it took to complete the work...
Construction Time For All of the Walls

If all the fortified walls that were built by the different dynasties and kingdoms around northern China are included, the total length would exceed 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles). All these walls together were completed over a period of 22 centuries. It is probably impossible to calculate how many millions of people built the Great Wall or the man hours expended.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

Trump’s ‘wall’ has become a metaphor for the fear, ignorance, and bigotry common to many of his supporters.

 

[Weatherman2020]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Great Wall is 13,171 miles long.

Is our southern border longer than that?

How Long It Took to Built the Great Wall of China

It is actually a complicated question. There are several Great Walls that were built by different dynasties such as the Qin Great Wall and the better known Ming Great Wall. But there are estimates about the number of laborers and records for how many years it took to complete the work...
Construction Time For All of the Walls

If all the fortified walls that were built by the different dynasties and kingdoms around northern China are included, the total length would exceed 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles). All these walls together were completed over a period of 22 centuries. It is probably impossible to calculate how many millions of people built the Great Wall or the man hours expended.

So why are you buying into the idea mankind can't do what they did 2,700 years ago?

 

[Luddly Neddite]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

So you disagree with the points made by the engineer?

Please elaborate.

If the engineer made any points you highlighted none of them. You simply said "Look, he's an engineer," and pointed at some ad-homonyms. According to your very own op the engineer made no points. Don't ask someone to argue against what doesn't exist.

No, I did not say
"Look, he's an engineer".
Nor did I attack anyone's grammar or spelling.

The engineer made his points. Not one of the a trump fans has the integrity or courage to address any of them.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Moreover we aren't even asking that they make it out of stone. In fact we aren't even requiring that we can walk on the wall. Nor are we asking that it span 13,000 miles. I could go behind a Home Depot, hire a few illegals, and have it done in record speed at a fraction of the cost before I shoved them over to the other side of the wall.

And here’s an example of that fear, ignorance, and bigotry.

 

[Vigilante]

Trump’s ‘wall’ has become a metaphor for the fear, ignorance, and bigotry common to many of his supporters.

Only to the truly stupid, you and Fugly qualify!

 

[Luddly Neddite]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Great Wall is 13,171 miles long.

Is our southern border longer than that?

How Long It Took to Built the Great Wall of China

It is actually a complicated question. There are several Great Walls that were built by different dynasties such as the Qin Great Wall and the better known Ming Great Wall. But there are estimates about the number of laborers and records for how many years it took to complete the work...
Construction Time For All of the Walls

If all the fortified walls that were built by the different dynasties and kingdoms around northern China are included, the total length would exceed 20,000 kilometers (12,000 miles). All these walls together were completed over a period of 22 centuries. It is probably impossible to calculate how many millions of people built the Great Wall or the man hours expended.

So why are you buying into the idea mankind can't do what they did 2,700 years ago?

I'm not.

I have no doubt that we could build a 12K mile wall over a period of more than 2000 years.

 

[Publius1787]

An Engineer Explains Why Trump’s Wall Is So Implausible

There are very few occasions in American political discourse that require the input of a structural engineer, but when Donald Trump took a question from Univision’s Jorge Ramos regarding his proposed United States-Mexico border wall at a press conference on August 25, I heard the clarion call:


RAMOS: How are you going to build a 1,900-mile wall?
TRUMP: Very easy. I’m a builder. That’s easy. I build buildings that are — can I tell you what’s more complicated? What’s more complicated is building a building that’s 95 stories tall. Okay?


No. Donald Trump is not a builder. Donald Trump could not build a doghouse. Donald Trump is a developer who pays what he would call “very, very smart people” to build things on his behalf. His response to Ramos’ question was meant both to exaggerate his understanding of construction and to downplay the challenges posed by his border wall project.

The challenge of Trump’s border wall is not technical, but logistical. The leap in complexity between “building a wall” and “building a 2,000-mile-long continuous border wall in the desert” is about equal to the gap between “killing a guy” and “waging a protracted land war.” Trump’s border wall, if built as he has described it, would be one of the largest civil works projects in the history of the country and would face an array of challenges not found when constructing 95-story skyscrapers.

Trumpery has no intention of "building a wall" but this thread is about the logistics of this fantastical project. John Oliver's segment explained many of the same things but this is more detailed. Even fans of Trumpery's trumpery will see why most people laugh at the idea of The Great Trump Wall.

Here in the 21st century we can't build a wall?
Good thing the Chinese didn't hear that 2,700 years ago.
Israel built a 500 mile wall. Hardly an engineering feat.

Moreover we aren't even asking that they make it out of stone. In fact we aren't even requiring that we can walk on the wall. Nor are we asking that it span 13,000 miles. I could go behind a Home Depot, hire a few illegals, and have it done in record speed at a fraction of the cost before I shoved them over to the other side of the wall.

And here’s an example of that fear, ignorance, and bigotry.

I wasn't going necessarily for fear, ignorance, and bigotry, but I can appreciate how someone who lacks anything of a sense of humor might think it so. Nevertheless, I was complementing the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the majestic day worker. (I added "majestic" to add that liberal aura to the sentence.)