President Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto met one-on-one in Ottawa, Canada, to discuss clean energy and climate change, but from the two leaders’ remarks, Donald Trump and the state of the 2016 U.S. presidential election appeared to be a major focus.
After the meeting, Obama condemned Trump’s derogatory remarks about illegal Mexican immigrants, who the billionaire businessman last year referred to as “criminals” and “rapists.”
“All too often we’re hearing rhetoric that ignores the enormous contributions that have been made by Mexican-Americans and the enormous strengths we draw from the relationship,” he said.
During his talk with Nieto, Obama said they discussed the continuing strength of the “business, commercial, trade and people-to-people ties” between the two countries.
“The United States is not just a friend and neighbor of Mexico, but the very character of the United States is shaped by Mexican-Americans who have shared our culture, our politics, our business,” he said.
Nieto also didn’t mention Trump by name, but he clearly denounced the anti-immigration rhetoric from the presumptive GOP nominee.
“Isolationism cannot bring prosperity to a society,” Nieto said. “… We have stressed the importance and relevance of working as a team and standing together.”
Nieto also said he and Obama spoke about the continued need for more security cooperation and additional work needed to combat drug trafficking.
