Donald Trump confirmed he will travel to Mexico City Wednesday to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, just hours before the Republican presidential nominee delivers a speech in Arizona on immigration policy, according to a source familiar with the situation.
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Last week, President Nieto – who has been critical of Trump’s insistence that Mexico would pay for the wall – invited both the Republican nominee and Democrat Hillary Clinton to visit his country.
Trump has spent much of his campaign railing against the U.S.’s trade imbalance with Mexico and other countries and promising that, if he’s elected president, he will punish companies that try to move jobs overseas. He was already out West on Tuesday for a campaign stop near Seattle, conceivably giving him enough time to jet down to Mexico for a brief visit before the evening speech. From calling Mexican illegal immigrants rapists and criminals, to vowing to build a wall along the southern border, to threatening to undo the North American Free Trade Agreement, Trump has caused growing alarm in Mexico.
The meeting appeared to be a gamble by Pena Nieto, whose popularity has slumped to all-time lows, and opposition politicians reacted with dismay. Christie made his own successful trip to Mexico City in September 2014 and has a warm relationship with the Mexican president.
Trump has faced backlash after criticizing Mexico and the Hispanic community in his previous speeches about illegal immigration.
They said earlier Tuesday that talks between the Trump campaign and Mexican officials were ongoing, with security concerns still being sorted out.
The meeting will come hours before he attends a rally where Trump is expected to clarify – once and for all – his stand on immigration and how he plans to deal with people in the United States illegally.
This will be Trump’s first meeting with a head of state.
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“What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions”, said Clinton campaign communications director Jennifer Palmieri.
