During President Donald Trump’s visit to the border wall in California on Wednesday, he reportedly had to be reminded not to reveal what kind of technology the Defense Department was using to construct it.
According to Politico, Trump toured the wall construction area in San Diego with acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan, Army Chief of Engineers Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, and acting Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Mark Morgan.
After Trump bragged about the strength of the wall’s concrete (“So if you think you’re going to cut it with a blowtorch, that doesn’t work because you hit concrete,” he reportedly said), the President started talking about the technology behind the wall sections.
“They’re wired so that we will know if somebody’s trying to break through,” Trump told reporters.
That’s when Semonite had to tell Trump, “Sir, there could be some merit in not discussing that.”
Yet, Trump reportedly continued, saying that the beams installed in the steel sections of the wall were heat conductors that made the structure so hot, “you can fry an egg on that wall.”
Correction: This article originally misstated Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite’s job title.
