Former Mexican President Vincente Fox said Donald Trump is simply “using Mexico” during his Wednesday trip to meet with its president.
“I think it’s nothing more than a political stunt. Trump is using Mexico, he’s using [Mexican] President [Enrique] Pena [Nieto] to boost his sinking poll numbers,” Fox told CNN hours ahead of the scheduled meeting between the two men in Mexico City.
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Pena Nieto is taking “an enormous political risk” by hosting Trump, Fox added. If Pena Nieto goes “soft” on Trump, “it will hurt him greatly,” he said.
“He will even be considered like a traitor because we don’t accept to be offended … I think this is a big mistake on the part of President Pena,” Fox said, noting that Trump is coming to Mexico as if his insulting rhetoric on Mexicans “never happened.”
When asked if Trump accepting the invitation from Pena Nieto shows the two are warming to each other in an attempt to better relations, Fox rejected the idea.
“I mean, you cannot lie to people. You cannot take advantage of people all the time like he’s doing. And you cannot cheat people. You have to be straight. You have to speak the truth. This is what he has done none at all. So it’s a very opportunistic move and I hope U.S. public opinion, U.S. citizens can see this and finally, and finally see what is behind Trump, this false prophet that is just cheating everybody,” Fox said. “It’s a desperate move and I don’t see how it can work at all.”
Fox had no clue as to why Pena Nieto — who has also invited Hillary Clinton — invited Trump in the first place.
“That’s what I don’t understand, and I will not understand unless there’s an explanation to it, except that Pena will take a very firm stand that he will reject and ask and commit him to apologize to all Mexicans here in Mexico and in the United States and that he withdraws all those stupid proposals of building a wall, putting together a trade war with Mexico, of limiting foreign investment into Mexico, of taxing imports to Mexico. I don’t know where Pena is,” Fox said.
Fox added that though Trump’s visit to Mexico is “very smart,” he still does not trust him.
“I don’t understand what’s going on here, and I really apologize for our president taking this step forward,” Fox remarked. “I really expect from him, as all 130 million Mexicans, all of our great brother Mexicans in the United States, an explanation from both, from President Pena and Trump himself.”
