Trump to Mexico: Take care of ‘bad hombres’ or U.S. might
ASSOCIATED PRESS
President Donald Trump pauses during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2017. Trump discussed the nomination of Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, setting up a fierce fight with Democrats over a jurist who could shape America’s legal landscape for decades to come.
WASHINGTON >> President Donald Trump threatened in a phone call with his Mexican counterpart to send U.S. troops to stop “bad hombres down there” unless the Mexican military does more to control them itself, according to an excerpt of a transcript of the conversation obtained by The Associated Press.
The excerpt of the call did not make clear who exactly Trump considered “bad hombres,” — drug cartels, immigrants, or both — or the tone and context of the remark, made in a Friday morning phone call between the leaders. It also did not contain Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto’s response.
Still, the excerpt offers a rare and striking look at how the new president is conducting diplomacy behind closed doors. Trump’s remark suggest he is using the same tough and blunt talk with world leaders that he used to rally crowds on the campaign trail.
A White House spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
The phone call between the leaders was intended to patch things up between the new president and his ally. The two have had a series of public spats over Trump’s determination to have Mexico pay for the planned border wall, something Mexico steadfastly refuses to agree to.
“You have a bunch of bad hombres down there,” Trump told Pena Nieto, according to the excerpt seen by the AP. “You aren’t doing enough to stop them. I think your military is scared. Our military isn’t, so I just might send them down to take care of it.”
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A person with access to the official transcript of the phone call provided an excerpt to The Associated Press. The person gave it on condition of anonymity because the administration did not make the details of the call public.
The Mexican website, Aristegui Noticias, on Tuesday published a similar account of phone call, based on the reporting of journalist Dolia Estevez. The report described Trump as humiliating Pena Nieto in a confrontation conversation.
Mexico’s foreign relations department denied that account, saying it “is based on absolute falsehoods,” and later said the statement also applied to the excerpt provided to AP.
“The assertions that you make about said conversation do not correspond to the reality of it,” the statement said. “The tone was constructive and it was agreed by the presidents to continue working and that the teams will continue to meet frequently to construct an agreement that is positive for Mexico and for the United States.”
Trump has used the phrase “bad hombres” before. In an October presidential debate, he vowed to get rid the U.S. of “drug lords” and “bad people.”
“We have some bad hombres here, and we’re going to get them out,” he said. The phrase ricocheted on social media with Trump opponents saying he was denigrating immigrants.
Trump’s comment was in line with the new administration’s bullish stance on foreign policy matters in general, and the president’s willingness to break long-standing norms around the globe.
Before his inauguration, Trump spoke to the president of Taiwan, breaking long-standing U.S. policy and irritating China. His temporary ban on refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries, aimed at reviewing screening procedures to lessen the threat of extremist attacks, has caused consternation around the world.
But nothing has created the level of bickering as the border wall, a centerpiece of his campaign. Mexico has consistently said it would not pay for the wall and opposes it. Before the phone call, Pena Nieto canceled a planned visit to the United States.
The fresh fight with Mexico last week arose over trade as the White House proposed a 20 percent tax on imports from the key U.S. ally to finance the wall after Pena Nieto abruptly scrapped his Jan. 31 trip to Washington.
The U.S. and Mexico conduct some $1.6 billion a day in cross-border trade, and cooperate on everything from migration to anti-drug enforcement to major environmental issues.
Trump tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner — a real estate executive with no foreign policy experience — with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call.
At a press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May last week, Trump described his call with Pena Nieto as “friendly.”
In a statement, the White House said the two leaders acknowledged their “clear and very public differences” and agreed to work through the immigration disagreement as part of broader discussions on the relationship between their countries.
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Associated Press writer Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
43 responses to “Trump to Mexico: Take care of ‘bad hombres’ or U.S. might”
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WTF
Threatening to invade Mexico? Insane
Fake News.
@ MoiLee
You right…that’s what Mexico said!
Mexican Government Calls Out AP Over Fake News (Trump Never Threatened to Invade Mexico):
http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/02/02/mexican-government-calls-out-ap-over-fake-news-trump-never-threatened-invade-mexico
Typical left wing attempt at spinning the truth. He’s not threatening to invade Mexico. He’s telling Mexico that if they can’t handle the criminals down there, we will. He’s threatening to kill the bad guys that ultimately endanger us.
Right. And, you don’t actually cheat at cards, you just manipulate the conditions of the game so that you can win.
And how is he going to kill them? Send troops to invade an ally? Drone strikes? You can’t defend this kind of stupidity…
Nuke em.
Yeah he’s insane so don’t take him seriously.
If I were a drug smuggler or alien smuggler-time to find a new job as the sheriff is shaking things up.
And POTUS Trump was very nice not to mention seamy senoritas.
At a boy Chump. Nothing like starting a war with our neighbor to the South. Who’s next, Canada??
More Fake News…..must be watching The Fake News Media Outlets. aka CNN.MSNBC
Wars? Oh please stop.
@ MoiLee
I find the gullibility of the left eating up the CNN/MSM/MSNBC/FAKEnews crapola unbelievable…if it wasn’t so hilarious. lol
Your certifiable FAKE NEWS Faux News is reporting it also.
Not real enough for you? Can’t believe your joke that you back is that clueless and unhinged?
Mental cases……
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/02/01/trump-tells-mexican-president-to-stop-bad-hombres-down-there-in-phone-call.html
@ Qbcoach15
Mexican Government Calls Out AP Over Fake News (Trump Never Threatened to Invade Mexico):
http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/02/02/mexican-government-calls-out-ap-over-fake-news-trump-never-threatened-invade-mexico
You canʻt argue that since Philippine elected President Duterte, crime has gone down, waaaaay down or else.
Great point…We SHOULD be using the Philippines as roll models to learn how America should be run…#MAGA
Protect our Borders! Right On President Trump!
If you’re not going to do it,we will!
Man! I just love this guy! He promised his voters he would protect our borders. This is exactly what he is doing. This is how America used to be,none of this Liberal Snowflake nonsense . Back in the day? You get it served straight UP!
My comment is awaiting moderation.
@ MoiLee
KaBoom!
#MASA
Where are we sending our military? Where is “down there”? The border? Into Mexico? Does anyone really think that all of this tough talk will lead anywhere except trouble? If there is a mistaken belief that the United States is able to wage conflicts on multiple fronts, this belief will be tested. For all of those people who believe that some country may not in fact care to deal with the United States and does provoke action, are you comfortable with sending your children, and grandchildren to war? There was another regime that promised millions of jobs and massive infrastructure investment to make it happen…just take a look back at the 1930’s.
Our Borders. If you don’t believe in protecting our Borders? Just let them all in and see what happens in the next few years…..there will be no USA.
EU is a preview of what Liberals want.
Our borders are only our borders on our side of the fence. Sending a government-sanctioned armed force into Mexico crosses their line – and regardless of whether or not you feel they deserve it, it’s rightly called an invasion.
It’s actually called war.
@ TigerEye
Mexican Government Calls Out AP Over Fake News (Trump Never Threatened to Invade Mexico):
http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/02/02/mexican-government-calls-out-ap-over-fake-news-trump-never-threatened-invade-mexico
Trump, obviously, is a dangerous, violent psychotic.
This is going to end very badly.
For the Mexicans. Remember the Alamo.
You do realized what happened at the Alamo? Didn’t turn out so great for the Texians in Mexico Texas.
In the early morning hours of March 6, the Mexican Army advanced on the Alamo. After repelling two attacks, the Texians were unable to fend off a third attack. As Mexican soldiers scaled the walls, most of the Texian soldiers withdrew into interior buildings. Defenders unable to reach these points were slain by the Mexican cavalry as they attempted to escape. Between five and seven Texians may have surrendered; if so, they were quickly executed. Most eyewitness accounts reported between 182 and 257 Texians died, while most historians of the Alamo agree that around 600 Mexicans were killed or wounded. Several noncombatants were sent to Gonzales to spread word of the Texian defeat. The news sparked both a strong rush to join the Texian army and a panic, known as “The Runaway Scrape”, in which the Texian army, most settlers, and the new Republic of Texas government fled from the advancing Mexican Army.
He has surrounded himself with psychotics with Bannon & Miller.
Thought his son in law would be the “adult” at the table. Guess not.
He must realize the only way to bring his poll numbers up would be by conflict or war.
You do realize those “psychopaths” and their views are 100% supported from most of America…#MAGA
Any bets on whether or not anyone in his own party will have the balls to stop him from disaster?
Wait until more reports surface on Trump’s weekend conversation with the Australian Prime Minister. #Disturbing.
NOTHING will happen, Trumps support is too GREAT, he stood up to another country and THAT is what we want…Whose next inline, who wants to test Trump now??? #MAGA
This guy thinks he can go around and bully other countries. There will be countries that will stand up to him in time.
NO ONE WILL STAND UP TO USA!!!! Trump represents ALL of us and if anyone stands up to him then they stand up to America, we will not let that happen…Fight to the END!!! #MAGA
Dear Mr Trump,
We have many of our own problems. Please concentrate your efforts on our home, the United States of America. Once you get our house in order you can expand to help the rest of the world.
Thank you
President Trump is fixing Americas problems at home by putting notice to ALL other countries that WE will enter your country and destroy them if we need to, we will stop ALL senseless deaths in the USA…#MAGA
Chicken hawk. Sending other people’s kids to ill thought out wars.
Drone assassinations of Drug gang leaders???
Why not? Good riddance. Mexicans would welcome that too.
If it’s good enough for Mexico then I hope they use it here to for our drug gang leaders too…#MAGA
Thanks for the FAKE news SA, it has be called absolutely false by guess who……wait, the Mexican Government. You sheeple have been duped again. More crying from the left over FAKE news. You can’t make this stuff up, LMAO!
@ PaulH808
Witnessing liberal heads exploding is so funny!
Mexican Government Calls Out AP Over Fake News (Trump Never Threatened to Invade Mexico):
http://nation.foxnews.com/2017/02/02/mexican-government-calls-out-ap-over-fake-news-trump-never-threatened-invade-mexico