'Not Negotiable': Mexican President Again Says His Country Won't Pay For Trump's Wall

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Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 09:48 pm

Even as Donald Trump repeated his pledge Wednesday that Mexico will pay for his wasteful border wall, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto again promised that, no, his country will not be funding the project.

In a meeting of Mexico’s ambassadors, Peña Nieto pointed out the ways in which his government differs with the United States, especially when it comes the wall.

“We have differences with the United States, like the wall that we’re not going to pay for,” Peña Nieto said. “We reject attempts to keep businesses from investing in Mexico on the basis of fear and threats.”

Despite Trump’s promise, the Mexican president said his country’s “sovereignty” and “principles” are “not negotiable” and that the wall will not be funded by Mexico.

Peña Nieto’s remarks come the same day that Trump again said that Mexico will eventually pay for the wall, even if the United States provides the initial money to start the project.

“We’re going to build a wall,” the president-elect said. “I could wait about a year and a half until we finish our negotiations with Mexico, which will start immediately after we get to office, but I don’t want to wait.”

Trump said that Mexico will “reimburse” the United States for the wall’s construction “whether it’s a tax or whether it’s a payment.”

Even though it’s unlikely that U.S. taxpayers will receive a full reimbursement for the money used to fund Trump’s wall, the incoming president continues to stand by the promise that was central to his presidential campaign.

This is the same strategy Trump has used with respect to the Affordable Care Act, which he and Republicans in Congress have promised to repeal and replace. The repeal, which would kick millions off their insurance plans and blow up the deficit, will come right away; the “replace” part, he says, will come later on.

Later on, of course, almost always means never.

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Sean Colarossi

Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.

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