Trump threatens to cancel Mexico meeting, Mexican president beats him to it

After President Trump signed an executive order authorizing the construction of a “large physical barrier on the Southern border,” he doubled down on his claim that Mexico would eventually “reimburse” the United States for its construction costs.

After Mexico insisted that it would do no such thing, Trump threatened to cancel an upcoming meeting with Mexican president Enrique Peña Nieto.

“If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting,” Trump tweeted after mentioning in an earlier tweet the U.S. trade deficit with Mexico and what he said were American job losses caused by NAFTA.

But Nieto beat him to it.

“This morning we have informed the White House that I will not attend the meeting scheduled for next Tuesday with the POTUS,” Peña Nieto tweeted.

“Mexico offers and demands respect, as a the sovereign Nation that we are,” Peña Nieto wrote in another tweet.

From Snopes:

The 31 January 2017 meeting between the two North American leaders was supposed to clarify the relationship (trade and otherwise) between the United States and Mexico. However, Trump’s decision to sign legislation to build the border wall and step up Border Patrol staffing and deportations appeared to anger Peña Nieto:

The Mexican president had largely avoided public conflict with Trump despite his rhetoric targeting Mexico during the 2016 campaign. But Trump’s actions and statements in the past two days, coupled with domestic pressure urging him to respond, forced Nieto to issue the public rebuke.

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Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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