Five years later, the rhetoric often struggles to match the reality. The United States-Mexico border spans about 3145 kilometres, and about a third of it contains walls erected by successive governments over several decades. Today, most of the barriers Trump claims to have built have merely replaced fencing that was previously installed by his predecessors. Furthermore, Americans – not Mexicans – are footing the bill.

US Election 2020: Fresh Texas battle looms over Trump’s border wall