Trump says he rejected Mexico's demand about border wall
US President Donald Trump has rejected a demand from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto that Trump should withdraw his request that Mexico must pay for a proposed wall on the US-Mexico border.
Speaking on Saturday at a campaign rally in Moon Township, Pennsylvania for a Republican congressional candidate, Trump gave some details of a tense phone call he had last month with Pena Nieto that led to the cancellation of plans for the Mexican leader’s first official visit to Washington.
Trump called Pena Nieto a “really nice guy” who made his request respectfully. The US president brought up the issue when the crowd started chanting “Build that Wall.”
“He said, ‘Mr. President, I would like you to make a statement that Mexico will not pay for the wall,’” Trump said. “I said, ‘Are you crazy? I am not making that statement,’” Trump said he replied.
When Pena Nieto insisted, Trump said he told him, “Bye, bye. There is no way I’m making that deal.”
The Mexican leader’s visit to the White House has yet to be rescheduled. Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, traveled to Mexico City last week to try to smooth over the tensions.
The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over the next 10 years to construct his controversial wall on the border with Mexico, The Associated Press reported in January.
The total length of the border is 1,954 miles (3,145 km) and is one of the most frequently crossed borders in the world.
During his campaign for presidency, Trump suggested that illegal Mexican immigrants in the US were “murderers” and “rapists.” He also promised to build a border wall and make Mexico pay for it.
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