Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed doubt regarding former President Trump’s commitment to building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. According to López Obrador, the strong economic relationship between the two countries would likely dissuade Trump from following through on his pledge.
“Because we understood each other so well. We reached an economic and commercial deal that benefited both people and nations. He recognizes it. He also mentioned President Biden in an interview that CBS News’ “60 Minutes” broadcast on Sunday.
When CBS reporter Sharyn Alfonsi asked López Obrador to respond to those who claim the wall “works,” he said it “doesn’t work,” and he told then-President Trump the same thing over the phone.
López Obrador stated that the two leaders agreed not to discuss the wall since they “were not going to agree” and that the phone call was the only time they discussed it.
“That was the only time I told him, ‘Mr. President, I’m going to send you some videos of tunnels from Tijuana to San Diego that passed right under U.S. Customs.'” He remained silent until he began laughing and telling me, ‘I can’t win with you,'” López Obrador recalled.
According to media sources from 2019, the Mexican president referred to the former president’s demand for a border wall as an internal problem and has subsequently endeavored to keep out of debates over the project.
In 2020, López Obrador, Mexico’s first leftist president in decades, stated that while he disagrees with Trump’s claim that the wall prevented COVID-19 transmission, he will not publicly debate him about it.
At the time, López Obrador stated that the relationship between the United States and his country was “very good” and that the two countries “are not distant neighbors.”
The Mexican president also rejected Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) assertion that the United States might compel Mexico to follow US immigration policies, according to CBS News.
“We’re not a colony. We are not a protectorate of any foreign country. And we have a very good relationship with the US government—but not one of servitude,” he remarked.
He also claimed that President Biden has generally accepted Mexico’s sovereignty, stating, “Every time I speak with President Biden, the first thing he says to me is that our relationship must be on an equal footing.”
The Mexican president slammed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), accusing him of “cheap politicking” on the southern border.
Curbing the migrant influx into the United States is a key emphasis of Abbott’s governorship term, and he has been at odds with the Biden administration for months about how the problem is being handled.
