Trump says anti-drug briefing 'shows need for wall'
President Donald Trump said he received a "great education" during an anti-drug trafficking briefing that underscored the need for the wall he has promised to build along the US-Mexico border.
"Drugs are flowing into our country," President Trump said in the Florida Keys.
"We need border protection. We need the wall. We have to have the wall."
The president travelled from Palm Beach, where he is spending the week, to the tourist haven of Key West for the update from the Joint Interagency Task Force South.
The agency is responsible for monitoring drug trafficking by sea, by air and online. Last year, it helped disrupt a record 283 metric tons of cocaine and detained nearly 900 suspected members of drug trafficking organisation.
President Trump said drugs are coming into the US through the Pacific and the Caribbean. He said human trafficking is another big problem.
The president has made it a priority to crack down on the flow of illegal drugs but has spoken less often about illicit substances that arrive via US ports and the mail system.
He has instead focused on the "big, beautiful wall" he made one of his signature campaign promises.
Just arrived @NASKeyWest! Heading to a briefing with the Joint Interagency Task Force South, NORTHCOM and SOUTHCOM. pic.twitter.com/r906IXnBcG
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 19, 2018
In Key West, President Trump marvelled at the size of the crowds that lined the streets as his motorcade snaked through the island city.
Many people waved colourful signs that commended or insulted him, including "You're fired," "Thanks for saving our country", and "Slimeball go home".
The president, a former reality TV star, relished the attention.
"I hope you saw the crowds in Key West. They've never seen anything like that. It was really very inspirational," he told reporters between stops.
"And what we just witnessed was incredible. But those crowds coming in, I think even the media will have to say that was quite something."
