Trump versus Clinton (Round 1)

Painful to watch. Like an unfunny version of Ben Elton and that's saying something. So his #1 problem is the cost it seems. Well, that's just a judgement call like HS2, nothing inherently wrong with the idea itself. I'm not convinced by his suggestion it is racist and xenophobic to even try to control the border, I have been deported from USA (technically denied entry) under the Obama regime and I wouldn't suggest he is racist as a result.

Costs are only part of the problem (costs of building the wall, getting all the material to the borderline and maintaining). And why on earth should the Mexican government pay for this wall? Just why?

Biggest problem with the wall is that the vast majority of illegal Mexican immigrants simply overstayed their visas (i.e. they entered legally via a port of entry (border crosspoint, airport) and did not return to Mexico after the approved period of time they were allowed into the US) - a wall would do nothing against them; only a small minority actually entered the US illegally via the land border between the US and Mexico.

Also, such a wall would alienate Mexico and the US, and Mexico is the US's third biggest trade partner.

Then there's the land ownership problem. The wall must - obviously - be built on American soil, so the US government would have to confiscate land from American citizens. Plus that would also generate areas of no man's land.

Also, how would a wall help against digging tunnels? Or someone bringing a ladder that is 1ft taller than the wall?

I don't think it's the president's responsibility of who is allowed entry and who not. That's usually decided by the CBP officer (and maybe their superior). I don't know the background of your denied entry, but CBP officers don't deny entry for nothing, so something must have been fishy.

I've entered the US quite a few times and found the CBP officers to be always polite and friendly - much more than their German counterparts. And now that I'm enrolled in Global Entry (the best spent $100 ever!), it's even easier and quicker.

Wouldn't be better to have a president in the most powerful country in the world that actually built bridges instead of walls?

On what planet have the Republicans given 'limited opposition'? They have been the most obstructionist group I have ever seen. They no longer actually believe 'in' government in fact. Scalia was a traitor, no more, no less; the supreme court is better off without him. I really can't get where your views on the state of US politics comes from (you haven't been watching sex pest Ailes' channel have you?) but the healthcare plan works and the division has come pretty much solely from the far right party that is what the GOP has become. I am fine with Cameron/May but Republicans are housing extremists. True conservarives are jumping ship.

Cue Republican musical counter-peformance of the von Trumpp family singing Pink Floyd's Brick in the Wall.

Some truth in that, however we have American guests on this forum who are more eloquent and smarter than me,, as their posts prove - so this definitely doesn't apply to them.

But you begin to worry when people who vote in this election, that 42% actually believed that human beings used to ride around on dinosaurs!?!?! You can see how they're going to vote.