Trump: I Talked To Mexican President About Border Wall
EVERETT, Washington (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said he had a "very substantive exchange of ideas" with the Mexican president after making a quick trip to a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals as he launched his campaign.
Trump met with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto for more than an hour on Wednesday in Mexico City, hours before he was to give a major policy speech about immigration in Arizona.
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"We all share a common interest in keeping our hemisphere safe, prosperous and free," Trump said.
Trump listed that ending illegal immigration, having a secure border, dismantling drug cartels, improving the North American Free Trade Agreement and keeping manufacturing wealth would increase the "prosperity and happiness" of both countries.
"The bond between our two countries is deep and sincere," Trump said.
Trump added that the two did discuss the border wall the billionaire wants to put up as president, but did not discuss Mexico paying for the wall.
"It's not a one-way street. We will work together and get those problems solved," Trump said.
Silent at that moment, Peña Nieto later tweeted, "At the start of the conversation with Donald Trump I made it clear that Mexico will not pay for the wall."
For his part, Peña Nieto noted that the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally is down significantly "even to the point of being negative to a net effect."
While Peña Nieto says the countries have shared challenges, he says that there exists "an incomplete vision of the border issues," with weapons and cash flowing south from the U.S. and fueling violence.
He added the Mexican people are people of "good will" who "deserve everybody's respect."
Earlier this year, the Mexican president compared the billionaire candidate to Hitler.
Some analysts said the Republican nominee had left Peña Nieto flat-footed by accepting an invitation the Mexican president had made simply for appearances' sake. Trump is widely loathed in Mexico for calling immigrants from the country "rapists'' and "murderers," among other insults.
Mexico City-based security analyst Alejandro Hope suggested that Peña Nieto "wanted to invite Hillary (Clinton), but that meant inviting both of them, and nobody thought Trump would accept first.''
He added: "What's in it for Mexico?"
The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump "caught Mexican diplomats off guard'' by accepting the invitation.
After saying during his primary campaign he would expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally with a "deportation force,'' Trump has suggested recently he might be open to "softening'' his stance as he tries to win over more moderate general election voters.
That, and other comments have led to questions about his stance on the signature issue, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
Donald Trump Jr. said on CNN Tuesday night that his father did not say his policy was changed.
"His policy has been the same for the last, you know, six, seven, eight months," Trump said. "...You have to start with baby steps, you have to let I.C.E. do their job, you have to eliminate the sanctuary cities."
CBS2's Dick Brennan reported that Clinton called Trump's visit nothing more than a photo opportunity.
"It certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours then flying home again," Clinton said at a rally in Cincinnati, Ohio. "That is not how it works.
The FBI is expected to release notes related to its probe into her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
The State Department says about 30 emails that may be related to the 2012 attack on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya, are among the thousands of Hillary Clinton emails recovered during the FBI's recently closed investigation into her use of a private server.
Government lawyers told U.S. District Court Judge Amit P. Mehta Tuesday that an undetermined number of the emails among the 30 were not included in the 55,000 pages previously provided by Clinton. The State Department's lawyer said it would need until the end of September to review the emails and redact potentially classified information before they are released.
Clinton continues to struggle with public perception about the emails as her favorability rating is now at the lowest point its ever been at 41 percent. Trump is lower at 35 percent.
A recent Monmouth University poll showed Clinton holding a seven-point lead nationally over Trump among likely voters.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
