Donald Trump told a story about the “origin of the paper clip” as he explained his decision to deploy ICE agents to airports.
The president announced that federal agents would be sent to airports across the country on Monday (23 March) in an effort to arrest “all illegal immigrants”, as he promised "security like no one has ever seen before".
It comes amid severe staff shortages at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) due to a partial government shutdown, leaving TSA agents working without pay and huge wait times at airports across the country.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One, Mr Trump took credit for the idea before launching into a bizarre comparison. “It [the paperclip] was so simple, and everybody that looked at it said, 'Why didn't I think of that?'"