Leading Mexican candidate: We will never pay for "useless wall"

While the future of President Trump's border plans are up in the air, one of Mexico's leading presidential candidates is calling him out for his "useless" wall, according to a report by NBC News.

Former first lady of Mexico Margarita Zavala told the network in a phone interview Wednesday that "the wall does not help in any way the relationship between the two countries," adding that the wall is "pulling us apart." Zavala is expected to be the nominee of the center-right National Action Party in this summer's Mexican presidential election.

The wife of ex-president Felipe Calderon, who has been referred to as the "Hillary Clinton of Mexico" in local media reports, went on to say that "the U.S. has to decide: What kind of a relationship does it want with Mexico? I think Donald Trump and the United States have a lot to lose if we don't get along, so it's time to decide how we're going to conduct our relationship in the future."

While Mr. Trump officials have since conceded the fight over funding for the border wall which will now be put off until the fiscal 2018 negotiations, the president vowed in a tweet that it will indeed be built to help stop drugs from entering the U.S.

But Zavala, according to NBC, says Mexico "will never pay for the wall."

This isn't the first time Zavala gone after Mr. Trump. She previously aimed tweets at him when he was invited to visit her country, saying "he is not welcome."

Current president Enrique Pena Nieto received a rash of criticism from Mexicans over his decision to meet with Trump during the presidential campaign after Mr. Trump referred to undocumented immigrants from Mexico as rapists and criminals.

In:
• Mexico
• Donald Trump
• U.S.-Mexico Border