Update | Trump tells Mexican president in surprise trip US will build wall to keep immigrants out, but did not raise who will pay for it
Donald Trump told Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Wednesday that the United States has the right to build a border wall to halt illegal immigration, but the Republican presidential candidate did not bring up his demand that Mexico pay for it.
In an unexpected trip to a country which he has frequently vilified for illegal immigration and drug smuggling, Trump held talks with the Mexican leader at his residence for about an hour.
“We did discuss the wall, we didn’t discuss payment of the wall, that will be at a later date, this was a very preliminary meeting. It was an excellent meeting,” Trump said.
Donald Trump will be who he has always been: Donald Trump
The unexpected trip comes as Trump seeks to clarify his stand on illegal immigration, a contentious issue that has been a centrepiece of his Republican presidential campaign.
Trump has long called for deporting people currently living in the US illegally and building a wall along the country’s border with Mexico.
But in meetings recently with Hispanic supporters, Trump has suggested he could be open to changing the hardline approach he outlined during the Republican primaries.
After one such roundtable this month, his new campaign manager said Trump’s stance on deportations was “to be determined”.
In the days since, Trump and his staff have broadcast varied and conflicting messages, with Trump himself saying one day he might be open to “softening” his stance, and days later saying he might, in fact, be “hardening”.
Pena Nieto told Trump that Mexicans deserved respect.
“The Mexicans in the United States are honest. ... Mexicans deserve the respect of everyone,” he said, standing next to Trump.
Mexican opposition politicians heavily criticised Pena Nieto for hosting Trump, who has accused Mexico of sending criminals and rapists across the border and cheating the United States on trade.
A few dozen people gathered beneath a monument to Mexican independence in the centre of the capital to protest the visit, some holding placards emblazoned with captions such as “You are not Wall-come” and “Trump and Pena out.”
Pena Nieto has been sharply critical of Trump’s original immigration policy, particularly the Republican’s insistence that Mexico would pay for the border wall. In a March interview, Pena Nieto said that “there is no scenario” under which Mexico would do so.
In the same interview, Pena Nieto compared Trump’s language to that of dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, saying it had hurt US-Mexico relations. Former Mexican Presidents Vicente Fox and Felipe Calderon have also alluded to Hitler in describing Trump.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a close Trump adviser, has been among those pushing Trump to make the trip to Mexico, according to a person familiar with their conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss them publicly.
Christie made his own successful trip to Mexico City in September 2014 and has a warm relationship with the Mexican president.
Pena Nieto extended invitations to visit Mexico to both Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton last week. The Washington Post first reported on Tuesday that Trump was considering making the trip to Mexico.
Trump is scheduled to speak on immigration Wednesday evening in Phoenix. He was already out West on Tuesday for a campaign stop near Seattle, giving him enough time to jet to Mexico before the Wednesday speech.
Trump’s short stop in Mexico marks his first campaign visit to a foreign country. The Republican has faced a torrent of criticism from Clinton, a former secretary of state, about his preparedness to lead on the world stage.
Several Republican foreign policy experts have also warned that Trump is unprepared for the numerous international issues that land on a president’s desk.
Clinton’s campaign has urged voters to not “be fooled” by what it calls Trump’s attempts to disguise his immigration policies.
“Donald Trump will be who he has always been: Donald Trump,” the campaign said in an email on Tuesday night.
