Trump adamant Mexico will still pay for his ‘Great Wall’ - eventually

President-elect Donald Trump has hit out at “dishonest” media reports for suggesting the US government will foot the bill for a new border wall and not Mexico, as he promised throughout his election campaign.

The Republican spent much of his campaign regaling supporters about plans to construct an “impenetrable wall” between the US and Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants.

In fact, the 2,000 mile border block was number one on Trump’s 10-point immigration plan, in which he vowed the colossal structure would be paid for by Mexico’s government.

However, recent reports indicate US taxpayers will actually have to pick up the bill, with Republicans said to be ready to ask Congress for the money.

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AP cite two anonymous congressional officials as saying Republicans are seeking ways to tack the wall onto a George W Bush era Secure Fence Act, meaning the wall could become a reality without having to pass a new bill by Democrats.

As a result, the government would fund the barrier physically plugging the US-Mexico border.

CNN reports that any such move might break a key promise of Trump’s campaign, while Politico quote Republican Rep. Luke Messer as saying it is a tactic to bypass opposition.

“If tied to the rest of government funding, it’s [the wall] much harder for the Democrats to stop, and by the way, I think it’s much harder for Democrats to vote against it if what you’re doing is authorizing funding for an existing law,” Messer said.

But Trump lashed out on social media early Friday over the reports, criticising them for failing to mention that the money would be - he says - reimbursed by Mexico at a later date.

“The dishonest media does not report that any money spent on building the Great Wall (for sake of speed), will be paid back by Mexico later!” Trump said.

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It’s unclear how any repayment might work given Mexico’s president Enrique Peña Nieto is on record as saying that his country will “never pay for the wall.”

Meanwhile, former Mexican premier Vicente Fox Quesada has railed against the wall proposal by labelling it a “racist monument.”

Trump’s reference to the project being a ‘Great Wall’ has raised some eyebrows on social media.