Donald Trump struggling to get his story straight on the US-Mexico wall

DONALD Trump has returned from his trip to Mexico. But he has just been caught out in a huge fib about what really went down there.

IT SEEMS Donald Trump is struggling to get the truth straight on his campaign pledge to crack down on immigration.

Earlier today, the Republican presidential candidate had a surprise visit with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.

Among the issues discussed was, of course, Trump’s infamous vow to force Mexico to pay for the establishment of a barrier along their shared border.

Shortly after the private sit-down, he told reporters they had set the issue aside.

“We did discuss the wall, we didn’t discuss payment of the wall,” Trump told reporters at a press conference.

“That will be for a later date.”

However, Nieto tells a different story. Shortly after the meeting, the Mexican President tweeted confirming that payment was indeed discussed, and he reiterated his stance that Mexico would not pay for the wall.

“At the start of my conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall,” he tweeted in Spanish.

Al inicio de la conversación con Donald Trump dejé claro que México no pagará por el muro.

— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) August 31, 2016

A spokesman for Trump’s campaign issued a statement shortly after, saying the meeting “was not a negotiation” over the wall, but offered no further details.

“It was not a negotiation, and that would have been inappropriate. It is unsurprising that they hold two different views on this issue, and we look forward to continuing the conversation,” the statement said.

Trump and Nieto are offering very different stories on how the ‘wall’ talk went down.

But now, the Republican presidential candidate is really stepping up the ante.

In an immigration speech delivered to a crowd in Phoenix, Arizona today, Trump reaffirmed his pledge to build the wall on the US-Mexico border, vowing that Mexico would pay for it.

“Mexico will pay for the wall. 100 per cent. They don’t know it yet but they’re going to pay for the wall,” he said.

He said the wall would be “beautiful” and “impenetrable”, and would include hi-tech technologies to prevent illegal border crossings.

Later, he was questioned over the practicality of making this work.

“Who pays for the wall? We didn’t discuss,” Trump responded. “We did discuss the wall. We didn’t discuss payment of the wall. That’ll be for a later date.”

Well, judging by Nieto’s earlier tweet, Mexico is clearly not going to have anything to do with it.

In the same speech, Trump said there would be a “zero tolerance” policy toward illegal immigrants.

“Day one, my first hour in office, those people are gone,” he said.

“It’s our right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants that we think are the likeliest to thrive and flourish and love us.”

He said he would create a “deportation task force”, and joked that “Maybe they’ll be able to deport (Hillary Clinton)”.

In a series of tweets, Clinton’s campaign has denounced the Republican candidate as a liar.

She retweeted the Mexican President and said Trump had “failed his first foreign test”.

Trump just failed his first foreign test. Diplomacy isn't as easy as it looks. -H

— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 1, 2016

So ... will Mexico pay for the wall? Will Mexico not pay for the wall? Did anyone even discuss Mexico paying for the wall? Will there even BE a wall?

So many questions. So few answers.