“If I were American I’d want the border closed, I’d be all in favor of building a wall. I’d want to build a wall in the middle of the English Channel,” the former business secretary said.
Rees-Mogg also said he supports Trump’s bid to return to the White House, claiming incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden “doesn’t like Britain” while expressing concerns about his “mental acuity.”
Trump popularized the “Build The Wall” slogan during his first run for the White House in 2015-16, in a bid to keep migrants from crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. In office, he actually built 452 miles of a border wall, though only 80 miles of new barriers were constructed where there were none before, according to the BBC.
The Conservatives have made immigration a key dividing line with Labour during the election campaign, as Britain’s main opposition party opposes Tory plans to send asylum-seekers to Rwanda. The Conservatives’ official account on X suggested Labour would make the U.K. a magnet for asylum-seekers.
Labour says it would spend the money allocated to the Rwanda scheme on a Border Security Command to prosecute gangs operating small boat routes and enhance EU security cooperation.
Former Commons leader Rees-Mogg is standing for reelection in the new constituency of North East Somerset and Hanham, where he faces a strong challenge from Labour’s Dan Norris, who’s currently mayor of the West of England.