US President Donald Trump suggested building a moat filled with either snakes or alligators along his country's southern border, according to The New York Times.
On Tuesday, the Times published an article adapted from an upcoming book by two of its reporters on Mr Trump's controversial immigration policies.
The excerpts, based on interviews with dozens of administration officials, made a number of revelations about one "frenzied week of presidential rages" in March.
Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Monday. Source: Getty
"The president's zeal to stop immigration had sent him lurching for solutions, one more extreme than the next," the piece said.
Mr Trump reportedly "often talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate".
He also suggested that a new border wall be wall be electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh and also discussed shooting migrants in the legs to slow them down.
Officials were said to hose down many of the ideas but "today, as Mr Trump is surrounded by advisers less willing to stand up to him, his threat to seal off the country from a flood of immigrants remains active".
The claims prompted an outcry on social media, with many users slamming the president.
It comes as Mr Trump faces an impeachment inquiry, triggered by allegations he abused his office by seeking dirt from Ukraine on a 2020 election rival.
Mr Trump faces the possibility of becoming only the third president ever impeached by Congress, which could lead to his going on trial in the Senate.
On Tuesday, he denounced the impeachment as a "coup," as his administration pushed back hard against the investigation.
Additional reporting: AFP
