TRUMP: Construction of the border wall will start within 'months'
He told ABC News' David Muir in an interview published Wednesday that he wants construction to begin as soon as possible.
When Muir asked whether that meant construction would start within months, Trump said, "I would say in months, yeah."
"Certainly planning is starting immediately," Trump said.
When asked whether American taxpayers would pay for the wall, Trump said that the money would "come out of what's happening with Mexico."
"We're going to be starting those negotiations relatively soon, and we will be in a form reimbursed by Mexico," Trump said.
Trump dodged the question when Muir pressed him on whether American taxpayers would initially foot the bill for construction of the wall.
"All it is is we'll be reimbursed at a later date from whatever transaction we make from Mexico," Trump said.
Muir mentioned that the Mexican president has refused to pay for the wall, but Trump stood firm.
"I think he has to say that. He has to say that," Trump said. "But I'm just telling you there will be in a payment. It will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form, and you have to understand what I'm doing is good for the United States. It's also going to be good for Mexico. We want to have a very stable, very solid Mexico."
During a press conference Wednesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said there are funding mechanisms Trump can use to make sure Mexico will pay for the wall.