The wall along the Mexican border is one of Trump’s most enduring and popular proposals, prompting raucous cheering and chants wherever he goes. Yet many of Trump’s fans don’t actually think he will build a wall — and they don’t care if he doesn’t.

Many also don’t think that Trump as president would really ban foreign Muslims from entering the country, seize oil controlled by terrorists or deport 11 million illegal immigrants. They view Trump’s pledges more as malleable symbols than concrete promises, reflecting a willingness to shake things up and to be bold.

“Trump says a lot of things right off-the-cuff. Does he mean it to the ‘T’? I don’t think so,” said Dennis Kerns, 55, a retired elementary school teacher who lives near Albuquerque and came to the rally with his wife. “When he talks about bombing ISIS and all of that — his advisers aren’t going to let him go off, half-cocked, and bomb here and bomb there.”…

Ian Carney, who works in construction and came to the Albuquerque rally with his girlfriend, described the wall as simply a “rhetorical device” that Trump uses.

“Personally, I think it’s symbolic. I mean, a physical wall?” said Carney, 26. “It’s just such a strong vision and idea, but I just care about the border being secure.”