Why can't ABC News' Terry Moran understand Sarah Sanders' border wall funding explanation? [video]

Sarah D | 7:05 PM on December 18, 2018

Welp, James Comey isn’t the only government power player not inspiring confidence today.

Last week, Donald Trump tweeted about how his United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade deal will deliver on his promise that Mexico will pay for the wall:

I often stated, “One way or the other, Mexico is going to pay for the Wall.” This has never changed. Our new deal with Mexico (and Canada), the USMCA, is so much better than the old, very costly & anti-USA NAFTA deal, that just by the money we save, MEXICO IS PAYING FOR THE WALL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 13, 2018

At the White House today, ABC News correspondent Terry Moran asked Sarah Sanders why it’s so important that Americans come up with the money if Mexico’s gonna pay for this thing. And, well, here’s how that went:

"The president has been clear that the USMCA deal would provide additional revenue through that deal that would show that Mexico is paying for the wall," Sarah Sanders tells ABC News' @TerryMoran when asked if American taxpayers will pay for the wall https://t.co/Pqd36RbV0f pic.twitter.com/OnBlTZCp8W

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) December 18, 2018

Oh … oh dear.

Here's the jaw-dropping exchange between Terry Moran and Sarah Sanders about where money comes from. Pro tips: taxpayers fund all federal agencies, private entities — not government — benefit directly from trade, gov revenue comes from taxes and that won't change much with USMCA. pic.twitter.com/JnSAyYwdJY

— Jonathan Allen (@jonallendc) December 18, 2018

Count Scott Lincicome, a trade attorney and Cato Institute adjunct scholar, among the many left scratching — and shaking — their heads after that exchange: