President Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto spoke by phone Friday about the border wall dispute.
Their talk came one day after the Mexican leader canceled an upcoming visit to Washington over Trump’s executive orders authorizing additional enforcement for illegal immigration and providing for construction of a border wall.
“We have a really, very good relationship, the president and I,” Trump said during a press conference on Friday of his ties with Pena Nieto. “And we had a talk that lasted for about an hour this morning. We are going to be working on a fair relationship and a new relationship.”
However, Trump struck an aggressive tone when it came to trade, arguing American jobs will no longer flow to Mexico under new trade rules.
“But the U.S. cannot continue to lose vast amounts of business, vast amounts of companies, and millions and millions of people losing their jobs,” Trump said. “That won’t happen with me.”
Trump described his conversation with Pena Nieto as a “very, very friendly call.”
“I think you’ll hear that from the president and I think you’ll hear that from the people of Mexico that really represent him, and represent him very well,” Trump said. “And I look forward to, over the coming months, we’ll be negotiating and we’ll see what happen.”
In a statement about the phone call, the White House notes Trump and Pena Nieto had acknowledged their “clear and very public differences of position” on who should pay for the border wall. Trump has insisted Mexico will pay for it, while Mexican leaders have fiercely denied that their country will provide any funding.
The White House said both sides would “work these differences out” in future discussions.
