“This idea that America is somehow on the verge of collapse, this vision of violence and chaos everywhere, doesn’t really jibe with the experience of most people”, Obama said at a White House news conference after meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
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“We’re not just strategic and economic partners, we’re also neighbors and we’re friends”, Obama said.
Obama noted that the “birds were chirping and the sun was out” for most Americans after Trump’s Thursday night speech, which expounded on the threats to America from illegal immigrants, Islamic State militants, and race-related violence.
Obama’s meetings with visiting foreign leaders are usually announced weeks ahead of time, but Pena Nieto’s was announced just one week ago.
The White House shrugged off suggestions that the visit was timed to highlight differences between Democrats and Republicans, particularly on attitudes toward Latinos.
Mexico’s chief anti-corruption official, who previous year exonerated President Enrique Pena Nieto of conflict-of-interest allegations, resigned on Monday, just hours before new graft-fighting legislation comes into effect.
“I think it’s fair to say that nearly anything that President Obama did on Friday would be viewed as a sharp contrast to the agenda that’s being put forward by the other side”, said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.
Andrade said in a televised address he was standing down to make way for the implementation of the new anti-corruption system, set to be promulgated by the president later on Monday.
In announcing his presidential campaign last summer, Trump pledged to build a border wall between the US and Mexico and make Mexico pay for it. “They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people”.
Pena Nieto said a good relationship with the United States is “essential” for his country and said he looks forward to a “frank, open dialogue” with whomever is elected.
Nieto has stated in the past that Trumps view on Mexicans and Mexican Americans has already hurt relationships between the United States and Mexico.
Obama said the violent crime rate in America has been lower during his 7-1/2 years in office than any time during the last three or four decades, despite an “uptick” in murders in some cities this year, and the recent high-profile killings of black men and police officers. Trump said that if he is elected, “safety will be restored” at home and overseas.
Obama and Nieto plan to discuss how the possibility of a Trump presidency could affect U.S. and Mexico relationships. “There’s plenty on the agenda that doesn’t involve the Republican nominee”, Earnest said.
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Obama said the two countries both want to see the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement take effect so that it puts workers across the Asia-Pacific region on a level playing field.
