Donald Trump told the Spanish foreign minister he had a foolproof way to deal with the Mediterranean migration crisis: build a wall across the Sahara.
Josep Borrell, a former president of the European Parliament, revealed the conversation this week, explaining how Mr Trump shrugged off his scepticism about building a wall through 3,000 miles of desert.
“The Sahara border can’t be bigger than our border with Mexico,” he reportedly said, apparently unaware of the size of the desert.
Mr Borrell told the story at a lunch event in Madrid this week, in comments that were widely reported by the Spanish media.
“We can confirm that’s what the minister said, but we won’t be making any further comment on the minister’s remarks,” a spokesman for the foreign ministry told The Guardian.