The speech is expected to lay out a range of policy prescriptions to stem the tide of illegal immigration and follows a week during which Trump and his campaign publicly wrestled with how to handle the more than 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. “We reject his visit”, former Mexican President Vicente Fox told CNN, calling the trip a “political stunt”.
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The meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto, who earlier this year compared the billionaire candidate to Hitler, comes hours before Trump is set to deliver a highly-anticipated immigration speech. But he still says he plans to build a huge wall – paid for by Mexico – along the two nations’ border.
While Trump’s visit came as a surprise, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a close Trump adviser, has been among those pushing Trump to make the trip, according to a person familiar with their conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss them publicly. The vast majority of Mexico’s exports go to the United States and Mexico is our third largest trading partner.
BBC Mexico Correspondent Katy Watson says the prospect has anxious many Mexicans who rely on remittances from their families who live in the US.
Even former First Lady of the Latin-American country, Margarita Zavala, slammed Trump’s visit saying that Mexicans have dignity and denounced the hate speech he has so often employed to a sea of white applauding people.
Pena Nieto cast a different tone late Tuesday, writing on Twitter of the visit, “I believe in dialogue to promote Mexico’s interests in the world and, principally, to protect Mexicans wherever they are”.
In his prepared remarks, Trump said: “It is a great honor to be invited by you, Mr. President”. Hillary Clinton, one can understand, but Donald Trump? “The Mexican government is much smarter, much sharper, much more cunning”.
Though the Republican presidential candidate said that they discussed the wall, the two leaders “did not discuss who pays for the wall”.
Trump concluded by saying to Peña Nieto, “I call you a friend”.
Donald Trump has told Mexico’s president the U.S. “reserves the right” to build a wall along the border with its southern neighbour.
According to an article published by the Nation, the Mexican President had reportedly plagiarized 197 of 682 paragraphs of his law school thesis. Also, his four-year term has reportedly seen the lowest polls of any president of the country since 1995 at a 23% approval.
Speaking at a joint press conference after their private meeting in Mexico City, Trump said he was “straightforward” in discussing his views on trade and immigration with Peña Nieto but said the meeting was only “preliminary”. However, as much as Republicans may not want Mexicans on their soil taking their jobs, they would probably not hesitate to continue taking their oil and resources. It might prove to be more beneficial for Mexico if it were so.
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Many speculations are revolving Trump’s visit to Mexico.
