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Agencies

US President Donald Trump wants a hug from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Who knew?
But Trump said such a gesture would be “very nice” as he wrapped up an unusual, public speakerphone conversation with the outgoing Mexican leader.
The long-distance call was a central feature of Monday’s unexpected announcement of a preliminary agreement between the US and Mexico on a trade pact Trump hopes will succeed the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he said was bad for America.
But first, the White House actually had to get Pena Nieto on the line.
Technical difficulties plagued the connection as the president, seated at his Oval Office desk, awkwardly tried to speak with his counterpart while reporters and cameramen watched.
“Enrique?” Trump said, with television cameras rolling. There was no response.
“You can hook him up,” he called out to aides.
“You tell me when. This is a big deal. A lot of people are waiting.”
The audience, including top White House advisers and Mexican diplomats, would have to wait a touch longer.


“Hellooo,” the president tried again.
“Do you want to put that on this phone please? Hellooo?” – before an aide finally took the receiver and patched Pena Nieto through.
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The awkward, real-time sequence in the Oval Office offered another example of Trump’s willingness to discard protocol and conduct his presidency like a reality show playing out in real time, conscripting those around him in service of the spectacle.
Finally, Pena Nieto was patched in to begin a congratulatory call that included few details and contradictory statements.

What the leaders agreed to was unclear, though Trump said it signalled the end of Nafta, which he has called a “terrible deal” for America. Congress must approve any changes.
At one point, Trump prompted confused questions from reporters after he said the deal was with Canada.
The deal is only with Mexico, and Trump immediately corrected himself.
Trump announces trade deal with Mexico, says he will ditch Nafta name
But even more surprising than word of an “understanding” between the US and its southern neighbour was the overly complimentary language between their presidents.
Relations between the two have been strained ever since Trump opened his presidential campaign in June 2015 by blasting Mexicans as drug dealers and rapists.

Then came Trump’s call to build a border wall to stop Mexicans from entering the US illegally and his promise that Mexico would pay for it. Mexico insists it will not pay.
Though they met during the campaign when Trump flew to Mexico City two months before the 2016 US presidential election, and again last summer at a world leader summit in Germany, Pena Nieto has abruptly called off two visits to the White House to meet with Trump.
What is Nafta? US and Mexico are on the verge of revising trade deal
But that tension seemed a thing of the past Monday, after months of contentious negotiations gave way to the preliminary agreement.
“You’ve been my friend,” Trump said to Pena Nieto at one point.
“I will tell you that working with you has been a pleasure,” he said later.
Trump added: “You’ve been my friend and you have been somebody that’s been very special in a lot of ways. We talk a lot. We talked a lot about this deal. And I’d like to congratulate you and the Mexican people.”
As the call neared its end, Pena Nieto said he hoped for a “good toast with tequila, of course.”
In closing, he told Trump: “I send you an affectionate hug”.
Associated Press, The Washington Post


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Trade

Donald Trump’s awkward phone call with Mexico’s president as they strike trade deal

US President Donald Trump talks on the phone with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. Photo: AP

Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto gestures after delivering his annual address to the nation in Mexico City, Mexico September 2, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

A White House aide assists U.S. President Donald Trump connect a phone call with Enrique Pena Nieto, Mexico's president, not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018. Trump said he would terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement and sign a new trade accord with Mexico, potentially leaving Canada out of the bloc. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

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World

United States & Canada

The awkward, real-time sequence in the Oval Office offered another example of Trump’s willingness to discard protocol and conduct his presidency like a reality show


Amid breaking news of a US-Mexico trade deal, Donald Trump invited reporters into the Oval Office to punctuate the moment in an unusual way: allowing them to sit in on a celebratory phone chat with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. But when he punched a button on a phone, the line was dead.


Donald Trump

Mexico

Donald Trump’s awkward phone call with Mexico’s president as they strike trade deal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The awkward, real-time sequence in the Oval Office offered another example of Trump’s willingness to discard protocol and conduct his presidency like a reality show

The awkward, real-time sequence in the Oval Office offered another example of Trump’s willingness to discard protocol and conduct his presidency like a reality show