Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador referred to former President Donald Trump as “a friend” on Friday, but reiterated his differences with him regarding his approach to immigration policy.
López Obrador said Trump is “a man of intelligence and vision” despite his disagreement with Trump’s calls to shut down the border and his statements blaming illegal immigrants for smuggling narcotics like fentanyl into the United States, according to The Associated Press.
The Mexican president indicated he plans to write a letter to Trump in an effort to persuade him that his views on illegal immigrants are flawed. “I am going to prove to him that migrants don’t carry drugs to the United States,” López Obrador said, according to the outlet. “Closing the border won’t solve anything, and anyway, it can’t be done.” (RELATED: Mexico Elects First Female President Who Could Bring More Of The Same On Border Crisis)
Mexican president calls Trump ‘a friend,’ says he’ll warn him against closing border https://t.co/1VYyaxzNkJ
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) July 19, 2024
The Mexican president argued shutting down the border would hamper trade and commerce, saying it “wouldn’t last a month with the border closed.” He also discussed concerns among Americans about moving auto manufacturing facilities to Mexico, suggesting keeping them in the United States would increase the price to about $15,000 to $20,000 per vehicle, the AP reported.
Despite butting heads, the two leaders still managed to maintain a friendly relationship. While Trump was in office, López Obrador agreed to deploy Mexico’s National Guard to stop migrants from reaching the southern border.
Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, a crisis began developing at the border with hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers showing up to gain entry into the country.
