President Donald Trump declared that his wall on the Southern border was officially underway, praising it as a “thing of beauty.” 

“We started building our wall.  I’m so proud of it.  We started,” Trump said, pointing to the pictures he posted on Twitter of the new border bollard fencing currently under construction in Calexico. 

Great briefing this afternoon on the start of our Southern Border WALL!  pic.twitter.com/pmCNoxxlkH — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 28, 2018

The funding for the Calexico project was obtained in FY2017 and construction began in February. 

Trump praised the $1.6 billion funding in the Omnibus spending bill for more bollard fencing as a “downpayment” of his promised wall on the southern border, even though it specifically bars spending for structures that look like the wall prototypes in San Diego. 

“You saw the pictures yesterday.  I said, what a thing of beauty,” he said. “ And on September 28th we go further and we’re getting that sucker built.”