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On January 25, 2019 U.S. President Donald J. Trump stated

"We do not need 2,000 miles of concrete wall from sea to shiny sea. We never did. We never proposed that."

CNN could not find an instance where Trump had proposed a 2,000-mile concrete wall from sea to sea.
Fact-checking Trump's speech to end the shutdown Source: CNN; see also Full Replay/Transcript: President Trump Announces Deal Reached To End Government Shutdown Source: RealClear Politics.

However, it's a very common belief that

In the run-up to the 2016 presidential election, Mr Trump promised to build a wall along the border's entire 2,000-mile length.
BBC News, 21 January 2019

I did find that on June 25, 2018 Trump stated

We gotta get that wall built, all the way across.
Speech: Donald Trump Holds a Rally in South Carolina for the GOP Primary - June 25, 2018 Source: Factba.se.

However, "all the way across" might or might not be considered by some scientific skeptics as inconclusive.

Question

Did then U.S. presidential candidate and eventual U.S. President Donald J. Trump ever propose or "promise" constructing a border wall for the entire 2000 mile U.S.-Mexico border?

guest271314
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    It might not be considered "scientifically conclusive," but he talks in broad, fact-free contradictory gibberish to the exclusion of ever making any "conclusive" statements. So..... did he ever specifically define what was being spanned when saying "all the way across"? No? He was talking about it in the context of US/Mexico border. He frequently compared a "border wall" to the Great Wall of China. Unless he's specified something else, in detail, I don't see that he should get some assumption that he was talking about anything else. – PoloHoleSet Jan 29 '19 at 16:12

2 Answers2

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As someone already explained in a comment on Politics SE, this was part of the RNC Platform. As we all know, President Trump ran as a candidate on that platform.

The comment on Politics SE quoted the following from the RNC Platform, though I cannot find the specific page where the quote is made:

we support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry. The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.

Luckily, it was also reported by news outlets, for example Fox News wrote:

The proposed platform will express support for a “border wall” that must cover “the entirety of the Southern Border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.”

The news site goes on to write:

"This is why we support building a wall along our southern border and protecting all ports of entry," the measure says. "The border wall must cover the entirety of the southern border and must be sufficient to stop both vehicular and pedestrian traffic."

JJJ
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    This is the primary source https://www.gop.com/the-2016-republican-party-platform/ at page 26. Is the answer to the question "yes" or "no"? – guest271314 Jan 27 '19 at 03:20
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    Did trump pledge to uphold that platform, or even repeat those words or something? That's what's missing from this answer. –  Jan 27 '19 at 03:38
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    @fredsbend he ran as the Republican candidate. Other than that, I doubt he's read that document, seeing it consists of 66 pages. The rhetoric he does repeat is mostly **a wall**, not multiple small walls but **a** wall. – JJJ Jan 27 '19 at 08:23
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    @fredsbend - As the candidate, Trump didn't just adopt a platform that was given to him, his campaign was an active participant in shaping that platform, including insisting on changes to the platform to any passages he did not like. – PoloHoleSet Jan 29 '19 at 16:17
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Trump explicitly clarified the scope of "the wall" as early as Feb 2016.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/09/politics/donald-trump-border-wall-cost-8-billion/

"I'm taking price per square foot and price per square, you know, per mile, and it's a very simple calculation," Trump said, noting that he would need to erect about 1,000 miles of border wall along the 2,000-mile long border because of natural barriers along certain parts.

William Frantz
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