The US President is said to have ordered aides provide him with a cost estimate for the massive trench along parts of the 2,000-mile frontier.

He reportedly considered filling it with deadly snakes or alligators to ward off migrants attempting to cross into the US illegally.

And he’s said to have wanted his much-publicised border wall to be electrified - with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh, and for migrants to be shot in the legs to slow them down.

The harebrained schemes, reported by the New York Times, were allegedly suggested by a “furious” Trump during Oval Office meetings in March.

Aides were stunned when in one meeting Trump ordered that the entire border be completely shut down by noon the next day.

He was warned such a drastic move would leave thousands of US tourists stranded in Mexico and cripple the economies of the two nations.

According to unnamed sources, Trump then swore and fumed: “You are making me look like an idiot! I ran on this. It’s my issue.”

The New York Times said it had interviewed more than a dozen White House staffers and Trump officials who were granted anonymity.