Donald Trump claims he will build 400 miles of Mexican wall by Christmas - even though Department of Homeland Security says just THREE miles of entirely new wall have gone up so far

President Trump talked up the progress of the U.S.-Mexico border wall on the heels of the release of a report from his own government that said only three miles of new primary wall had been constructed. 

In the Oval Office Thursday, the president said the wall was keeping Mexican cases of the coronavirus out of the United States, as he sai

d the aim was to have 400 miles of border wall finished by the end of 2020 and 500 done by early next year. 

'Mexico is having a very, very hard time, as you know, with COVID, especially along the border, Tijuana and various places along the border,' Trump said. 'Fortunately we have brand-new wall along there, and the wall is saving us.' 

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President Trump boasted about the U.S.-Mexico border wall during a hurricane briefing on Thursday. Trump said he wants to see 400 miles of wall built by the end of 2020. A report that came out this week said only three miles of the primary wall sits where wall didn't exist before

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A vast majority of wall that's been built since President Trump came into office was replacing older walls or barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. Overall, 194 miles of wall has been built, but only 16 of those miles represent construction where no wall stood

Trump said his administration was 'setting records on the border in terms of low numbers.' 

'Very few people are getting in and when they are we will be taking them immediately out,' Trump added. 'We are using emergency powers,' he explained.  

A report from Customs and Border Protection, which was  obtained by The Washington Post, found that while 194 miles of wall have been built the vast majority of 'new' wall was replacing old wall. 

Only 16 miles of the 194 represent construction in places a wall didn't exist, and of that tally, 13 miles were new secondary wall, while three were primary.  

Thursday's wall talk has been in line with the president's focus on the border amid the coronavirus pandemic.     

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In July 2019, President Trump complained about not getting credit for building the wall when he was rebuilding the wall 

Last week while touring a Ford Motor Co. plant in Michigan, Trump boasted about the progress of construction. 

'But the way, on our southern border, it's never been so secure,' he told workers. 'We're up to almost 200 miles of wall .And we have never had - that whole area is - nobody comes through that area.'

'The area where the wall goes up, that's the end of that,' the president added.  

In the past, though, he's conceded that some of his new wall is merely replacing old wall, with better construction. 

'When we rip down and totally replace a badly broken and dilapidated Barrier on the Southern Border, something which cannot do the job, the Fake News Media gives us zero credit for building a new Wall,' Trump tweeted in July 2019. 'We have replaced many miles of old Barrier with powerful new Walls!' 

It's more difficult, of course, to construct new wall where wall hasn't previously stood before. 

A $1.3 billion contract has been awarded to a North Dakota firm to build 42 miles of fencing through southern Arizona. 

The contract raised eyebrows because of the CEO's unique campaign to woo Trump and his allies, but it also cost so much because of the terrain the wall will have to go through. 

One CBP official told The Washington Post that this Arizona section will be 'a challenge' due to its 'remoteness, rugged terrain and logistical challenges,' including a section that is on the Santa Cruz River basin, where monsoon-like storms can create vicious flash flooding. 

As a candidate, Trump told supporters he would build a wall between the United States and Mexico and Mexico would pay for it.