Trump continues to insist that Mexico will be paying for the infamous “wall”, the border meant to target drug and criminal smuggling across the U.S. – Mexico border, in the bilateral meeting with Mexico’s President, Pena Nieto, at the G-20 Summit.
US President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto sat next to each other for their bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20.
Pena Nieto spoke through an interpreter, to thank Trump for the meeting at which the two would discuss trade, migration, security and organized crime.
This statement about the wall came after both Presidents shared remarks, fairly non-adversarial and optimistic in nature, regarding the relationship between the two nations particularly in regards to trade and immigration – two hot topics throughout Trump’s campaign and the presidency.
President Trump referred to President Nieto as “my friend, the President of Mexico”, and said “And we’re negotiating NAFTA and some other things with Mexico, and we’ll see how it all turns out. But I think we’ve made very good progress.”
President Nieto expressed similar sentiments, praising the “flowing dialogue” on issues like “the negotiation of NAFTA; to continue working in terms of cooperation, especially for security, for the security of both nations, especially in our borders; and, of course, also working on migration issues”.
The meeting seemed to be going smoothly until a reporter asked “Do you still want Mexico to pay for the wall?” to President Trump, to which he responded “Absolutely”.
The issue of the wall itself has been a wildly controversial topic in American and international politics, but the most recent and significant concern has been regarding the funding of the wall, to which Trump has continuously insisted that Mexico will pay for the wall. President Trump has also received skepticism from his own supporters regarding his lack of progress on the wall, as bids to build the wall are still currently under review.
Read also: World Leaders Pose For Their G20 Family Photo In Hamburg
Read also: G20 Review: Pope Francis As World Leader?