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.
The U.S. has a 60 billion dollar trade deficit with Mexico. It has been a one-sided deal from the beginning of NAFTA with massive numbers…
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
of jobs and companies lost. If Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 26, 2017
“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.
Esta mañana hemos informado a la Casa Blanca que no asistiré a la reunión de trabajo programada para el próximo martes con el @POTUS.
— Enrique Peña Nieto (@EPN) January 26, 2017
“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.
BREAKING: Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto cancels meeting with Trump following border wall executive action https://t.co/buv8sAl5mf
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 26, 2017
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