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Trump forgoes insults of past, calls Mexico cherished friend Trump forgoes insults of past, calls Mexico cherished friend
(about 1 hour later)
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has denigrated Mexican migrants and threatened the U.S. ally with crippling tariffs, welcomed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the White House on Wednesday with lofty language and he called America’s southern neighbor a cherished partner. Trump said the countries’ economic and security relationship was reaching new heights. WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, who has denigrated Mexican migrants and threatened the U.S. ally with crippling tariffs, welcomed President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to the White House on Wednesday, called him a cherished partner and claimed the countries’ economic and security ties were reaching new heights.
Trump’s affectionate words were in stark contrast to the days when he called Mexicans “rapists” and railed against migrants entering the United States illegally. Lopez Obrador had cordial words for Trump, too, saying that while the two leaders have disagreed, it was better to find common ground and avoid slinging insults. Trump’s warm words were in stark contrast to the days when he called Mexicans “rapists” and railed against migrants entering the United States illegally. López Obrador had cordial words for Trump, too, saying that while they have disagreed, it was better to find common ground and avoid slinging insults.
“Instead of remembering the insults, things like that, against me, we have received from you President Trump an understanding and respect,” Lopez Obrador said. “Some people thought ideological difference differences would inevitably lead to confrontations.” The meeting was billed as a celebration of economic ties and the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, but critics in Mexico worried López Obrador was being used as a political pawn to bolster the Trump campaign and his “America first,” anti-illegal migration agenda. Despite the verbal backslapping in the Rose Garden, thorny issues — from immigration to investment — remain.
Back home, Lopez Obrador has received criticism for making this his first foreign trip as president, just four months before the election. With no meetings planned with former Vice President Joe Biden, Lopez Obrador seemingly is banking that Trump will win a second term. Trump has dialed back his harsh words since López Obrador took office a year and a half ago. And López Obrador signaled he wanted to put the insults in the past.
The meeting was billed as a celebration of economic ties and the new North American trade agreement, which took effect July 1. Critics in Mexico worry that Lopez Obrador is being used as a political pawn to bolster the Trump campaign. “As in the best times of our political relations, during my term as president of Mexico, instead of insults toward me and more importantly against my country, we have received from you understanding and respect,” López Obrador said.
Lopez Obrador arrived at the White House after morning stops at the Lincoln Memorial and a statue of Benito Juarez, a former Mexican president and national hero. Culminating the visit was a planned White House dinner with about 20 U.S. and Mexican business leaders, including Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world. Their relationship is an odd bromance: López Obrador is a veteran leftist and Trump tacks right.
Trump and Lopez Obrador discussed the United States-Mexico-Canada trade deal. It replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was blamed for prompting U.S. companies to shift manufacturing to Mexico. The visit could give Trump an opening to bash his Democratic opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, for voting for NAFTA when he was a senator.. “Some thought that our ideological differences would have led us inevitably to confrontation,” López Obrador said. “Fortunately, this bad omen didn’t materialize and I consider that in the future there will be no need to break our good political relations, nor the friendship between our governments.”
The Democratic Party chairman, Tom Perez, recalled Trump’s insults of Mexicans and said the president was now trying to take credit for a trade deal that Democrats in Congress helped make possible. The two signed a declaration highlighting U.S.-Mexico relations and the USMCA. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided not to come to Washington to celebrate the agreement, citing scheduling conflicts.
Trump and López Obrador also pledged to cooperate in responding to the coronavirus, which has rocked both nations. Since March 2020, movement across the border has been restricted to essential travel while allowing the flow of goods and services. Last year, Mexico became the largest goods trading partner of the United States.
López Obrador arrived at the White House after morning stops at the Lincoln Memorial and a statue of Benito Juarez, a former Mexican president and national hero. Trump and a military honor guard greeted him at the White House. The two posed for pictures and Trump flashed a thumb’s up. They also were to have dinner at the White House with about 20 U.S. and Mexican business leaders, including Carlos Slim, one of the richest men in the world.
With the U.S. looking to reduce its dependence on China for parts and supplies, Mexico is well-positioned to step into the void, though U.S. businesses have viewed some recent actions taken by the Mexican government as harmful to U.S. investors and say they undermine the framework of the USMCA.
“If there is not a better investment climate for both foreign and domestic private investment, it will be very difficult to use the opportunity of USMCA and the drift between China and the United States to our advantage,” Geronimo Gutierrez, who was Mexico’s ambassador to the U.S. in 2017 and 2018, said during a virtual event hosted by the Wilson Center.
With no meetings planned with former Vice President Joe Biden, López Obrador seemingly is banking that Trump will win a second term. The Democratic Party chairman, Tom Perez, recalled Trump’s insults of Mexicans and said the president was now trying to take credit for a trade deal that Democrats in Congress helped make possible.
“Latino communities, immigrants, and the American people deserve a president with the empathy and experience to lead us forward, not a demagogue who cheers on bigotry from the White House,” Perez said, urging voters to elect Biden.“Latino communities, immigrants, and the American people deserve a president with the empathy and experience to lead us forward, not a demagogue who cheers on bigotry from the White House,” Perez said, urging voters to elect Biden.
A former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Roberta Jacobson, questioned the timing of the visit and Mexico’s decision not to meet with Democrats. In a letter to Trump last week, a dozen Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus denounced the meeting with Mexico’s president as an effort to distract voters from rising cases of coronavirus in the United States and said it was a “blatant attempt” to politicize relations between the allies. In a letter to Trump last week, a dozen Democratic members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus denounced the meeting with Mexico’s president as an effort to distract voters from rising cases of coronavirus in the United States and said it was a “blatant attempt” to politicize relations between the allies.
Jacobson, ambassador from 2016 to 2018, said she saw no important reasons for Lopez Obrador to make the trip. Canada’s prime minister and Trump rival, Justin Trudeau, decided not to come to Washington celebrate the agreement, citing scheduling conflicts. When he arrived at the White House, López Obrador and Trump did not shake hands as would have been customary before the pandemic. White House spokesman Judd Deere said all members of the Mexican traveling delegation were tested for the virus. The presidents sat at tables positioned many feet apart to sign their joint statement.
Jacobson expected López Obrador, who is known as AMLO, to hear that he needs to improve the investment climate in Mexico, because without it, the deal alone will not pull his economy out of its recession. López Obrador likes to point out that Trump helped Mexico reach a deal with other oil-producing nations to cut production and aided Mexico in obtaining more ventilators to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Both presidents talk about a blossoming friendship that seems to stem from their pursuit of nationalist agendas.
With the U.S. looking to reduce its supply chain in China, Mexico is well-positioned to step into the void, administration officials told reporters on a call outlining the visit. Cooperation between the two countries allowed the flow of goods to continue across the U.S.-Mexico border despite shutdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the White House. Many Mexicans, however, remain wary of Trump, whose denunciations are intended to rally his most loyal supporters. Trump has threatened tariffs to strong-arm Mexico into playing an uncomfortable role in U.S. immigration policy and insisted that Mexico will pay for a border wall meant to keep migrants out of the U.S.
Mexico is the largest U.S. trading partner in goods, and during the pandemic the two nations worked closely to keep supply chains going so plants in both countries would not have to close because of a lack of parts from the other, officials said. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany wouldn’t get into detail about what the two presidents said about immigration. Mexico deployed guards to the border to help stem the tide of illegal immigrants from Central American.
Mexicans remain wary of Trump, whose denunciations are intended to rally his most loyal supporters. Trump has threatened tariffs to strong-arm Mexico into playing an uncomfortable role in U.S. immigration policy and insisted that Mexico will pay for a border wall meant to keep migrants out of the U.S.
López Obrador has avoided fights with Trump and the two have a surprisingly warm relationship despite coming from different ends of the political spectrum. Trump flashed a thumb’s up as he and a military honor guard greeted Lopez Obrador to the White House and they posed for pictures.
Lopez Obrador, a veteran leftist, likes to point out that Trump helped Mexico reach a deal with other oil-producing nations to cut production and aided Mexico in obtaining more ventilators to cope with the coronavirus pandemic. Both presidents talk about a blossoming friendship that seems to stem from their pursuit of nationalist agendas.
If Trump were to win a second term, López Obrador could be calculating he would have a friend for the remaining four years of his administration. If Biden were to take the White House, the Mexican leader would hope the new American president would respect the importance of the bilateral relationship and not hold a grudge.
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Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Christopher Sherman in Mexico City and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.