Donald Trump travelled to Mexico on Wednesday in an unexpected trip to a country which the Republican presidential candidate has frequently vilified as the main source of illegal immigration and drug smuggling to the United States.
Trump-Nieto Discuss About The Wall
Trump said that he and Mexican President discussed his proposal for a border wall between the countries but not the New York businessman’s demand that Mexico pay for it.
Trump and Pena Nieto emerged from about an hour of talks at the presidential palace in Mexico City to deliver statements to the news media and take questions.
We did discuss the wall, we didn’t discuss payment of the wall, that will be at a later date, this was a very preliminary meeting, it was an excellent meeting.Donald Trump, Republican Presidential Nominee, USA
Pena Nieto, in his statement, said the border must be seen as an asset for the region. He said undocumented immigration from Mexico to the United States had dropped considerably since reaching a peak a decade ago.
Mexican President, after the meeting, tweeted that he made it clear to Trump that Mexico will not pay for the wall.
A U-Turn By Donald Trump
Trump’s visit to Mexico City takes place hours before he is due to deliver a highly anticipated speech in the border state of Arizona on how he would tackle illegal immigration if he wins the election on 8 November.
The meeting, which Trump and his advisers began considering after an invitation from Pena Nieto last week, will be Trump’s first official interaction with a foreign leader since he began his presidential campaign more than a year ago, stirring up frequent controversy both at home and abroad.
Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence said Trump would speak to the Mexican leader about border security, including his signature pledge to build a wall along the US-Mexico border to counter illegal immigration.
Mexican opposition politicians and academics expressed disbelief that Pena Nieto would host Trump, who has accused Mexico of sending criminals and rapists across the border and cheating the United States on trade.
Scorn Raised on Both Pena Nieto and Donald Trump
Within minutes of Donald Trump saying he would visit Mexico, one of the front-runners to become the country’s next president hit back, saying the brash White House hopeful would not be welcome.
That was just a start.
Scorn rained down on both Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and the US Republican presidential nominee after the two announced late on Tuesday they would meet during a brief trip by Trump to the country he has repeatedly attacked during his presidential campaign.
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Before it even took place, the visit was a public relations disaster for Pena Nieto as politicians and diplomats condemned him for inviting a man who has united Mexican like few others in shared disdain.
People gathered beneath a soaring monument to Mexican Independence in central Mexico City on Wednesday to protest the New Yorker’s visit, some holding placards emblazoned with captions such as “You are not Wall-come” and “Trump and Pena out”.
Desperate Move Ahead of Election?
Trump has been pilloried in Mexico since he launched his White House campaign in 2015. He has pledged to renegotiate or scrap the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) trade deal between the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox, who has been fiercely critical of Trump, blasted the visit, saying Trump was untrustworthy and that Pena Nieto’s invitation appeared aimed at boosting his own flagging popularity at home.
Pena Nieto has been enmeshed in his own controversies, including over whether he plagiarized some of his 1991 undergraduate law thesis.
It is a desperate move by both sides.Vicente Fox, Former President, Mexico
The last-minute trip contrasts with the usual style of foreign visits at the presidential level, which are long-planned and carefully scripted.
Trump trails Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in most opinion polls nationally and in most battleground states with 10 weeks to go until the election.
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