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DONALD TRUMP HAS announced that he will travel to Mexico today to meet its president, just hours ahead of giving a much-anticipated speech in Arizona on immigration.
The Republican presidential nominee’s surprise trip south of the border comes as debate about his hardline immigration policies is reaching fever pitch.
Although his visit holds potential political peril, Trump could seize control of the campaign narrative at a crucial time, showing a willingness to engage diplomatically on a sensitive issue at the heart of his campaign.
Donald J. Trump / TwitterI have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 31, 2016
Mexico’s presidential office confirmed the visit, posting its own tweet in Spanish to say the billionaire New York real estate tycoon “has accepted the invitation and will meet tomorrow privately with the President.”
He further tweeted that the meeting would “promote the interests of Mexico in the world and, mainly, protect to the interests of Mexicans”.
Pena Nieto’s office said in a statement that he had sent invitations to Trump as well as his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton.
Her campaign has announced no plans for a visit, with an aide saying yesterday that Clinton “looks forward to talking with President Pena Nieto again at the appropriate time.”
Trump has routinely assailed Mexican immigrants who illegally cross the border into the United States. Hardline immigration policies including calls for deportations are a key plank of his campaign.
A sudden international trip by a US presidential candidate would be a logistical and security nightmare at such short notice.
But Trump could be sensing an opportunity in the visit as he mulls whether to soften his positions on immigration, particularly the call early in his campaign to deport some 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows.
Any Trump-Pena Nieto meeting could be an awkward affair.
In rally after campaign rally, Trump has pledged to “build a wall” on the US southern border if he becomes president and to force Mexico to pay for it.
Pena Nieto for his part has likened Trump to “Hitler and Mussolini” and slammed the Republican nominee for his isolationist positions.
And in a July interview, he told CNN that “there is no way that Mexico could pay for a wall like that.”
Trump used some of the most incendiary language of his campaign when launching his White House bid last year, describing Mexicans as drug dealers, rapists and other criminals.
He is scheduled to deliver what is billed as a crucial speech this evening in Phoenix, Arizona, seen as an opportunity to clarify his positions on immigration.
In recent weeks he has expressed willingness to soften his hardline stance to a “fair and humane” policy ahead of November’s election.
‘Baby steps’
But Trump has vacillated between reaching out to minorities and returning to the anti-immigration rhetoric that goes down well among his most ardent supporters, mainly white working-class males.
That now looms as an obstacle as he seeks to expand his base in the general election contest at the expense of Clinton, who has accused Trump of fueling xenophobia and racism.
Commenting on his Mexico visit, Clinton spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri pointed to Trump’s insults directed at Mexicans and his campaign promises, including a pledge to ban remittances to families in Mexico if their country refuses to pay for a border wall.
“What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions,” she said.
The recent tweaks to Trump’s tone have included a change from insisting on removing millions of the undocumented to promising deportations of those immigrants with criminal records.
Trump’s new campaign director, Kellyanne Conway, said there has been little real change in the central tenets of Trump’s immigration platform, including “no amnesty” for those in the country illegally.
Despite this, Trump yesterday repeated his signature campaign promise to build a wall on the US border with Mexico.
Donald J. Trump / TwitterFrom day one I said that I was going to build a great wall on the SOUTHERN BORDER, and much more. Stop illegal immigration. Watch Wednesday!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 30, 2016
© – AFP 2016 with reporting by Rónán Duffy
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Ann Coulter wrote a book called In Trump We Trust. She wrote that the only thing that could not be forgiven is him flip-flopping on immigration.
The day she launched her book, he flip-flopped on immigration.
Love it. lol
His detailed immigration address is this evening in Arizona. No flip flops yet.
He went from banning all muslims to not banning all muslims to banning all muslims to only enforcing current legislation. He’s flip flopped so many times I’ve lost count
I’ll just leave this here:
Is that sort of how Hillary called the TPP the “Gold standard” of trade deals, but no insists she’s against it? Or how she supported her husbands infamous crime bill in the 90′s, now opposes. Or how about her support for her husbands Defence of Marriage act, she’s now a big supporter of gay marriage. Maybe it’s how she decries big money in politics while at the same time taking hundreds of millions from big banks and wealthy special interests?
Here’s Hillary calling for a secure southern border and the use of “physical barriers” to do so: https://youtu.be/Ezaw-g6TIQI
She called NAFTA the gold standard of trade deals.
It was TPP she said set the gold standard for trade deals, video here: https://youtu.be/MpLQzeCoNnA
right you are Patrick.. She had other choice words in praise for NAFTA. The “gold standard” comment was TPP. My mistake
Ann coulter is daft as a brush.
I think she did say it about NAFTA as well though. Nothing like a trade deal negotiated by a Republican president and signed in by a Democrat to divide absolutely everybody. Still weird that Bill gets the blame for that one yet it was Daddy Bush that wouldn’t stop bragging about it in debates with Perot and Clinton.
Still weird that Bill gets the blame for an act he signed into law!?! Did somebody forge his signature?
Yet only 10 Republicans in the Senate and 43 in the House voted against it. Yes, it’s weird that Bill gets the blame for something that was voted on and passed by a two thirds majority in the Senate and a simple majority in the House. Weird, a Republican president negotiated it, Republicans carried it through both votes and Bill gets all the blame because he didn’t veto it. Yet Obama is blamed for obstructing democracy when he uses the veto.
Is that sort of like how it’s weird Bush gets all the blame for Iraq even though most Democrats (Hillary included) voted for the war as well?
Patrick, it has been established that the information given to those voting (Pence included) was deliberately misleading. Yet you blame Bill for NAFTA and Hillary for the war in Iraq.
And you blame neither for anything evidently. Is it only Democrats you give a pass to when it comes to personal responsibility?
Is he’s being wishy washy again?
You should have by now noticed that I’m only helping you to wrap yourself in your own hypocrisy. If you want to blame the war in Iraq on Hillary’s one vote then you have to equally blame it on Pence’s one vote or of you want to solely blame Bill for NAFTA then you have to blame George W. for Iraq even though he did more than just sign it.
Petr, it’s interesting that you are quoting The Washington Post. Whenever I’ve used a source in American media you have ridiculed all American media as pure propaganda but now you have no problem when it suits you.
Btw trump is a ass.
Dave it is you who is feverishly attempting to escape the straightjacket of hypocrisy and double standards I have so cunningly trapped you in. Hillary doesn’t take all of the blame for Iraq but she is certainly culpable as she voted to send them to war. Bill takes a huge portion of blame for the disaster that was nafta as it is his signature that signed it into law, nobody forced him.
So in your mind the president takes more responsibility than those that voted for or negotiated the bill/agreement?
Dave you presume I don’t blame George H W Bush at all for nafta, he played a key role in the negotiations indeed but Clinton enacted it. Why? Because they both subscribe to a neoliberal view of a globalised world. On this issue the likes of the Bush’s and Clinton’s are simpatico.
You’re going around in circles. There was far more Democrat opposition to NAFTA than Republican same with the Iraq war. Bush Sr. played the key role in NAFTA. He negotiated it, and built a campaign on it. A lot of people supported NAFTA including Clinton and Bush voters. It’s difficult to blame a president for signing something that the majority wanted just because he wanted it too. The difference with the Iraq war is that the information given to those voting was based on false intel provided to them by people who answered to the president
He’s a crazy man … trump!
Dave let’s try bring it back to the relevancy to the ongoing election. Fossils like Bill and the Bush’s are irrelevant at this moment in time. Hillary Clinton supported NAFTA etc throughout her career (until pollsters told her to flip on TPP), Trump has been opposed to both throughout.
Another THREE PINOCCHIO’S for Trump :)
Trump’s opposition to NAFTA in 1993: “the Mexicans want it, that doesn’t sound good to me.” and here’s an interesting read from somewhere Trump may be familiar with http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/nafta-20-years-later-benefits-outweigh-costs/
Dublin Lad / Declan Noonan / Liam Egan,
You are voting for Shillary, therefore your silly point is swatted away like a fly. You have no credibility.
Coulter must have been leppin’ when his big hero let him down so badly. LOL
Petr, it’s you who has the lack of credibility. I repeat again that in the past you have dismissed all American media as propaganda. Yet you now use the Washington Post to make a point. You are a hypocrite.
No Dubinlad / Declan Noonan / Liam Egan, it’s definitely you who suffers from an acute lack of credibility. You are voting for a criminal who voted to destroy Iraq — a stable country who did not attack America — and is a shill to the financial industry and to some of the worst autocrats on earth. This is who you’re voting for.
For the record, I never claimed that the output of all US newspapers is propaganda. Such a bald statement is entirely without nuance. You won’t find an example of me every saying that. You are either mistaken or lying.
Trump visiting Mexico will bring back many happy memories for him :)
It’s another place where he stole peoples life savings
Trumps Ocean Resort Baja :)
He is truly an international pickpocket.
Mexicans love Trump. He said so himself, so it’s a fact.
How funny would it be if he lost his passport and could not get back in? Tee hee hee
The Journal never uses the term “illegal immigrants”. Deporting people who are in the country illegally is not extreme. Many countries including Mexico deport illegals on the spot. Allowing millions and millions of illegals into your country when your country has a 20 trillion dollar national debt is extreme. Trump is the necessary correction.
As usual you clowns don’t even have a basic understanding of the facts. Obama has deported 2.5m illegals – the most of any US President in history. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-deportation-policy-numbers/story?id=41715661
Trumpy Drumpy will deport all those illegals & America will prosper like it has never done before ..LOL
people wouldn’t generally get facts from ABC news Mgrey.
According to statistics provided by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, deportations of aliens from the United States have decreased precipitously under the Obama Administration
The well respected Senator Sessions chaired a sub-committee in which that frequently repeated line by the media and Obama administration is in fact false. Stats below:
http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2016/5/chart
“In the year ending in September 2015, 86% of the 235,413 deportations covered people dubbed “priority one” by the Department of Homeland Security: terrorism suspects, gang members, felons and illegal border crossers.” -Wall Street Journal
Poor Trump will have no bold people left to deport :)
Poor pet :)
Sessions is a loony Trump supporter and has no credibility. This is the problem with you people – widely accepted facts are ignored as you create your own disturbed reality. Here is Reuters quoting (not manipulating like that junk piece above) DHS stats. http://blogs.reuters.com/data-dive/2015/02/25/tracking-obamas-deportation-numbers/
Well if you won’t believe “loony” Senator Sessions and the sub-committee findings then please refer to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies which confirms that ICE deportations continue to decline this year and are on pace to be the lowest since 2006.
http://cis.org/Immigration-Enforcement-Deportations-Decline-2016
If you were to be believed, deportations have increased under Obama at a time when the backlog of pending cases in U.S. immigration courts has hit an all-time high of nearly 500,000. Why not secure the border instead of allowing them in in the first place and then deporting them? it makes no sense and costs taxpayers a lot of money.
This decline in deportations is in line with Obama’s executive order in November 2014 to provide deportation relief for 87 percent of unauthorized immigrants now residing in the United States.
There has been many deportations under the Obama administration, true, but that is because there has been unprecedented illegal immigration levels under his watch. Obama’s executive orders have quickly diminished deportation laws and amnesty has obviously been the preferred policy of Obama and the Democratic Party. This isn’t exactly a secret.
You go ahead and believe ABC, Reuters and Barack Obama though if you want.
Jynx, so your source says that 2006 was the previous lowest year? Then that just confirms that Obama increased deportation numbers.
Dave
It confirms that deportation figures today are as low as they were in 2006, but, the illegal immigration numbers have gone through the roof since then. Deportations continued at the start of the Obama administration due to existing laws but executive orders and a lack of border control has lead to a free for all and amnesty.
MGrey up there was making it out like Obama has been really strict and deported “more than any president ever”. In reality, deportation laws have been deconstructed under Obama and amnesty given to nearly anyone who wants it. Migrants wouldn’t come from S. America if it wasn’t for his lunatic policies. Build that Wall.
But you stand by the fact that he increased deportation numbers?
no, where did it say that? i stand by the fact that he drastically reduced deportation numbers through executive order at a time when they should have been drastically increased due to an overwhelming increase in illegal immigrants under his administration.
Jynx, if this year is the lowest since 2006 then that means every year since 2006 has been higher than 2006. That’s an increase, not a decrease.
I just laugh out loud at Jynx and his links ..lol
Anything legit ,Jynx ? lol
Dave
You’re not getting it. I’ll spell it out:
2006 Deportations : 280,000
2007 Deportations: 360,000
2008 Deportations: 370,000
2009 Deportations: 375,000 (Existing deportation laws still in place)
2010 Deportations: 378,000 (Existing deportation laws still in place)
2011 Deportations: 390,000 (Existing deportation laws still in place)
2012 Deportations: 410,000 (Existing deportation laws still in place)
2013 Deportations: 375,000 (Existing deportation laws still in place)
2014 Deportations: 320,000 (The year executive action taken by Obama).
2015 Deportations: 235,000
2016 Deportations: 230,000 * Based on current figures and projection
I never claimed there was no deportations, my argument was that deportations have drastically declined at a time when illegal immigration has drastically increased due to Obama’s executive action in November 2014.
http://cis.org/Immigration-Enforcement-Deportations-Decline-2016
Jynx
Stop your petty Obama bashing ..lol
“Over the course of FY 2015, ICE has improved its ability to target individuals who threaten public safety and national security as demonstrated by the fact that 98 percent of individuals that ICE removed met ICE’s civil immigration enforcement priorities. As these revised enforcement priorities continue to take hold, and state and local cooperation increases, ICE expects continued progress in ensuring its resources are appropriately focused in keeping our nation safe and secure.”
Petty Obama bashing?? It’s called criticism. Is he above it or something?
Never said that he was above criticism,Jynx..Where did you get that idea from.?
Donnie Trumpy wants to do what Obama is actually doing on Immigration ..
There is also nearly 150,000 less immigrants trying to cross the border now,too …the figures are way down..Obama has got tough ..
You should be praising him ..lol
Jynxy, your numbers don’t add up to your source data. The lowest since 2006 means that it’s still higher than in 2006 otherwise it would be a year pre 2006. So either your numbers are bullshit or your source is, take your pick
Hope he stays there
Hillary will meet him once she gets through her 3 day nap. #HidingHillary
do you only comment on hilary/trump articles?
Primarily. It’s my niche.
Ah the little trumpets deriding Hillary on every Trump article. Why bother? Pointing out Hillary’s faults does nothing to paint Trump in a better light.
It’s the only time hillary’s considerable faults and negatives get highlighted on the journal as the editors and writers have abandoned all pretence of balance and objectivity they won’t ever scrutinise Clinton.
It’s Guardian Lite over here.
I don’t like Hillary either, but it’s Trumps persistent buffoonery that makes him so newsworthy.
You have to laugh at the people giving out about the Journal’s coverage being always against Trump. Go to any mainstream media outlets and they are publishing the same stories. Hillary just isn’t doing stupid things so it isn’t news.
Stupid things > Criminal Things it seems
Trump has been the accused and the defendant more times than Clinton to a factor of a few hundred. Starting with his first building where he settled a case for racial discrimination after he told a black man they had no available apartments the day before he told his white wife that they had a few available.
is he hiring?
There are a multitude of roles available throughout his various successful businesses: http://chm.tbe.taleo.net/chm04/ats/careers/searchResults.jsp?org=TRUMHOTE&cws=1
His bailed out businesses that survived. 80% of trump businesses go bankrupt within 12 months
You’ve pulled that stat out of your Swiss.
Hillary soon to be in another hot mess: “FBI Recovers 30 Benghazi Emails Deleted By Hillary” http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-08-30/fbi-recovers-30-benghazi-emails-deleted-hillary
No one cares, Hillary is just not as entertaining as Trump.
She is just scarier?
Donald was reported to have been stopped at the border when a 20 ft high Mexican wall stood in his way. He rang the president to express his disgust when the president responded laughing saying you can pay for it.
One thing about Donald he’s very dynamic physically.
Hilary on the other hand can hardly make it up the stairs to her bedroom.
She hasn’t been the same since the brain operation which has affected her in mysterious ways. Even Bill’s worried about her and he’s almost worn out himself.
Can you imagine Hilary and Bill in the White House?
Grandma and Grandpa Walton.
To be honest if I was an American I certainly wouldn’t want a woman with serious brain issues with her hand on the nuclear button. She might wake up some morning and forget who she is.
Let’s make America Safe Again.
Vote Donald.
However tramps serious brain issues are far more apparent
‘tramp’
Nice wordplay there Donal but we all know there’s only one tramp in this contest and she’s married to the man who likes tramps.
Based on that logic, maybe Connor MacGregor should be POTUS as he is far more physically dynamic than either Trump or Clinton , plus he doesn’t have comically tiny hands. Is there no limit to your ludicrous postings?
Actually that conclusion is drawn from your own logic……….which is faulty by the way.
I don’t think Hillary it as bad as they say. She has low energy, that is all. I have a bet on Trump to win
Joey, you claim others logic is wrong yet you’ve diagnosed a candidate based on memes and YouTube while having no medicinal background.
@Joeh_Westland-it won’t be Hillary and Bill in the White House;it will be Hillary,Huma Abedin and Bill in the WH-( probably in the basement) if they win the election. Huma Abedin is Saudi raised and widely suspected of being Muslim Brotherhood influenced as her whole family are up to their necks in global terror support. Hillary took all her advice on Mid-East affairs from Huma when she was Sec.of State.2009/2013 under pres. Hussein Obama and all know how that turned out.
@Val Martin-Hillary is attractive.I too have a bet on Donald Trump. I would try to spend the winnings on Hillary as she needs a break away from politics.
Good Luck with your Donald Trump bet!
@Dave.
I argue that one of the two presidential candidates is more physically able for the job than the other.
You introduce Conor McGregor into the equation.
Weird Dave.
Totally weird.
That was for Phil.
Always a bit tricky when to many Mexicans both sides of the border is still Mexico. Many are descended from people born on what is now the American side. It is not necessarily just a matter of stepping up security. 24% of the population of Texas is of Mexican descent. 32% are Hispanic.
Not a Trump fan but he pulled a fast one on Clinton who presumed they would both play it safe………..
Looks like she’s just giving him enough rope to hang himself to me
The optics will be fantastic, just as it was when he beat her and Obama down to Louisiana to help struggling Americans, while Obama golfed and Hillary napped.
After being asked not to come by those in charge of the state as it would take resources away from the rescue operation. You left that bit out.
Good point, Dave, but the problem with giving rope to a psychopath like Trump is that he could end up hanging all of us with it.
Oh please, he’s a sociopath not a psychopath.
Let us hope that if Trump eats anything while he’s in Mexico he doesn’t get a severe dose of “Montezuma’s revenge”. He has already invented enough reasons to hate Mexico and doesn’t need another one. Besides, isn’t his verbal diarrhoea disgusting enough without him blasting liquid doo-doo out of his other end as well?
‘Verbal diarrhoea’
Quite a common ailment I believe.
It is indeed, Joey, as you so masterfully demonstrate.
But don’t worry, you can overcome it with a little effort and application of cop-on. LOL
Rebuild the Berlin Wall
Interesting concept. It makes you wonder how today’s exodus would have panned out in the face of the iron curtain. It would have also kept Merkel behind it maybe.
They might agree to built a wall on the southern Mexico border instead. Cheaper
I hear an Irish company will supply the materials for the wall!
There will be no “wall” Paddy ..lol
Donnie is a fake..trust me ..lol
That wall is about as likely to be built as the Dart line to Dingle.
A 10er says they pick him off in Mexico
It’s going to be like final scenes of The Wild Bunch.
Brady Bunch Zombie GMO style hummm.
Is the Wall to keep them in as more Mexican who live in the U.S. are immigrating to Mexico now compared to the Mexicans who try to find work in the U.S. Are these U.S. Citizens retiring to Mexico I do not know…
But many U.S. Citizens will leave the U.S. if either is elected as many state, the joke is Canada will build a wall now to keep the Americans out ;)
But it is funny how you can not google Hillary’s health / mental problems but you can on other search engines like yahoo and then they talk about freedom and free speech, what a joke?
have your say