Trump Urged Mexico's President To Stop Saying They Wouldn't Pay For Wall
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - During a phone call made shortly after his inauguration, President Donald Trump urged Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto to stop saying that Mexico would not pay for the wall.
That's according to transcripts of the call obtained by The Washington Post.
During the call on January 27th, Trump told Nieto, "The fact is we are both in a little bit of a political bind because I have to have Mexico pay for the wall, I have to. I have been talking about it for two year period."
After Nieto insists that Mexico will not foot the bill, Trump responds by saying, "But you cannot say that to the press. The press is going to go with that, and I cannot live with that."
"If you are going to say that Mexico is not going to pay for the wall, then I do not want to meet with you guys anymore because I cannot live with that," Mr. Trump added.
The president tried to convince Nieto to have Mexico pay for the wall because it had, "made a fortune out of the stupidity of U.S. trade representatives. They are beating us at trade and they are beating us at the border, and they are killing us with drugs."
Trump added that the billions of dollars made through drug trafficking "is bigger than the business of taking our factory jobs."
The President also blamed much of America's drug crisis on Mexican drug lords.
"We have a massive drug problem where kids are becoming addicted to drugs because the drugs are being sold for less money than candy," Mr. Trump said. "I won New Hampshire because New Hampshire is a drug-infested den."
Trump actually won the New Hampshire GOP primary but did not win the state in the presidential election.
Greg Miller is a reporter for the Washington Post and had something to say about the transcripts.
"His overriding concern in these conversations...is the Trump brand, how any of these issues reflects on him personally," said Miller.
Nieto agreed that the two countries should work together but countered that drug trafficking in Mexico is "largely supported by the illegal amounts of money and weapons coming from the United States."
Trump went on to say that from an economic stand point, the wall was the least important part of their discussion but from a psychological point, "It means something, so let us just say, we will work it out."
Ultimately, Pena Nieto agreed to stop talking about the wall.
"Let us stop talking about who pays for the wall, talking about the wall in general, because I think there is a more creative way we can start looking for a solution," he told Mr. Trump. "And it is the way we can remove the big block in our path."
The Post published the transcript of the call, which it said had been prepared by the White House but not released.
Some lawmakers were irate over the leaked transcripts.
"These people should be fired! They should be out of government! They are disloyal," said Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN).
New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan said President Trump should apologize to her constituents.
"The words were disgusting and outrageous, and that the president should stop insulting people and actually start focusing on how we can beat this epidemic," said Hassan.
The Post also released transcripts of President Trump's call with the Australian Prime Minister. During that call, Trump called an immigration agreement with the country "a stupid deal" that will make him look terrible.
As for what the president had to say about the transcripts, Trump did not respond to a reporter's question about it on Thursday.
For more on politics, visit cbsmiami.com/politics.
