HomeTriple-amputee Air Force veteran launches GoFundMe campaign to pay for the border wall

Triple-amputee Air Force veteran launches GoFundMe campaign to pay for the border wall

December 20, 2018 | by Junie Sihlangu

In 2004, Brian Kolfage, an Air Force veteran, lost his legs and right arm during his second deployment in Iraq. On December 16, he started a GoFundMe campaign to fund a border wall between the US and Mexico.

The goal set for the campaign is set to be $1 billion and so far, the army veteran has already raised almost $3 million in three days.

Within two days, triple-amputee Brian Kolfage, 37, had raised more than $1 million for his “We The People Will Fund The Wall” GoFundMe campaign. Kolfage explained why he’d created the initiative saying:

“I was just kind of fed up with the way things were going politically, the games people are playing. I knew that it would be big, (but) I didn’t expect it that fast.”

For more on this story go to our Twitter account @amomama_usa. The Miramar Beach, Florida resident revealed that he’d set the goal for his campaign at $1 billion only because GoFundMe capped donations at that amount.

His actual hope is to raise the $5 billion that President Donald Trump needs to build the border wall. When the army veteran has reached his goal, he intends on giving the money to the government.

Kolfage, however, revealed that he hadn’t spoken directly with the Trump administration yet. But he has discussed with members of Congress on how to put his plan into action.

A case that is similar to Kolfage’s is the one of businessman David Rubenstein. In 2012, the billionaire donated $7.5 million to the US government in order to repair earthquake damage to the Washington Monument.

Speaking in reference to Rubenstein’s case, the army veteran explained:

“This is the same thing, only a grander scale. People want this and they want a way to give for something they’re passionate about. They just didn’t have a way to give because politicians weren’t giving them those avenues to contribute or to do something.”

Trump long promised that he would build the border wall between the US and Mexico. However, it was estimated that such a task could cost anywhere from $5 to $25 billion.

So far, Congress has failed to give its approval for the funding. The president even went as far as threatening to shut down the government if the wall funding isn’t included in any budget deals.

Last year, Texas Republican Will Hurd spoke to the BBC's James Cook about Trump’s proposed border wall. At the time, the politician had revealed that he was pro more border security, but not a wall.

He said the wall would be the “least effective way” of securing the border.

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