Trump tweet about wall hints at possible visit to New Mexico

September 28, 2020 The Associated Press News
Republican state House candidate Glenda Vargas of Albuquerque holds a doll representing a fetus to highlight her support for a ban on abortion procedures at a political rally in support of President Donald Trump and allied local candidates in Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Republican candidates and party officials are touring the state by bus to court female voters and highlight Trump's efforts to bolster law enforcement, ban abortion procedures, improve internet access and reopen the economy. Democratic Party Chairwoman Marg Elliston said the rallies are risking lives as large groups gather largely without masks in defiance of state public health orders that requires masks in public and limits gatherings to 10 people. (AP Photo/Morgan Lee)

SANTA FE, N.M. — President Donald Trump hinted Friday at a visit to New Mexico without providing further details in a tweet about protecting gun rights and building the border wall.

The Twitter message from Trump responded to a comment by Fox News contributor Tammy Bruce about primary election voting trends in New Mexico.

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Trump tweeted back, “Working hard in New Mexico. … Will be there soon.” The president also says he built “the Wall” and “will totally protect your Second Amendment. (The Dems want to obliterate it.)”

No further information was immediately available from a Trump campaign spokesman.

Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016 by a margin of 8 percentage points.

Trump last campaigned in New Mexico a year ago at a rally in suburban Rio Rancho. This year, his administration has highlighted violent crime in Albuquerque and deployed federal agents to the Democratic-led city to bolster law enforcement efforts.

The Trump administration has completed 20 miles of construction along the 185-mile section of New Mexico’s southwestern border with Mexico, according to Department of Homeland Security data from Sept. 14.

Dozens of additional miles in New Mexico are listed as under construction or “pre-construction,” including longer sections south of Deming and Santa Teresa, just west of El Paso, Texas.

Trump has repeatedly promised that Mexico will ultimately pay for border wall construction. The projects in New Mexico have been funded with money allocated by Congress to the Defense Department and diverted by a Trump executive order.

The Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this year approved a so-called red flag law in response to a mass shooting at a Walmart in Texas that killed 23 people and appeared to target Mexicans.

The law allows law enforcement to petition a court for the surrender of household firearms by people who appear to pose a danger to themselves or others, based on sworn affidavits filed by relatives, employers or school administrators. Authorities can be held liable for officers who fail to enforce the law.

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