I happened to be in my car this afternoon when the president of Mexico and Donald Trump made their statements at the end of their meeting in Mexico City. I heard in its entirety what each of them said. It was fascinating. It was the beginning of a negotiation on some issues and the acceptance by the Mexican leader of others. Trump also stepped back from confrontation and went out of his way to be accommodating and friendly. There is no other way to understand what was said.
There are four key areas of interest between the USA and Mexico that were the central themes of today's meeting (at least according to the statements.) These are 1) prevention of illegal immigration; 2) dealing with the consequences of past illegal immigration; 3) trade and the NAFTA trade agreement; and 4) drugs and the drug cartels. By far, the statements made clear that trade was the most important of the subjects. We can discuss that, but let's look at what was said about the other subjects.
On dealing with the drug trade there was clear agreement. Both Trump and the Mexican president talked about working together to eliminate or at least reduce the flow of drugs and to shut down the cartels. There was no conflict of any sort, just agreement.
On prevention of illegal immigration Trump talked about the right to build a wall on the border. Nothing was said by the Mexican president to contradict Trump on that point. Indeed, the president recognized the right of any country to control its own borders.
When it came to dealing with the consequences of past illegal immigration, both men tried to finesse the subject. Trump talked a great deal about illegals coming from Central America on a very dangerous journey across Mexico to the USA. The Mexican president echoed those sentiments. Trump did not discuss much about deporting illegals from the USA. While the Mexican did not discuss that issue directly, he did talk about the big contributions that Mexican citizens make to the USA. It was as close as the two came to a disagreement.
Finally, we get to trade and economic matters. Trump has been saying throughout his campaign that the USA should either renegotiate the NAFTA treaty or else pull out of it. NAFTA, of course, is the trade deal signed by Bill Clinton about 20 years ago which Hillary Clinton strongly supported at the time. Trump says that it gives Mexico unfair advantages and that America needs to be treated equally. The most important thing that the president of Mexico said today is that NAFTA could be improved to benefit both countries. Translating that into English, the Mexicans were saying that they are prepared to renegotiate the NAFTA treaty. That is a big first step and a big victory for Trump. Unlike Hillary Clinton who accomplished nothing in office, Trump has already gotten an initial concession from Mexico before he even gets elected. This was the opening of negotiations, not a final deal. Still it is wonderful to see our country using its strength for once rather than just working out some losing deal that gives us no help.
About an hour after the joint statements were completed, I heard a "special report" from CBS News about Trump's visit to Mexico. The reporter spent three quarters of the supposed report on the visit talking about what Trump had said the day he declared his candidacy more than a year ago. She injected controversy into the visit and statements that just wasn't there. About an half hour later, the regular CBS News radio report came on. They spent half the report covering protests about the visit by interviewing one protester. They also spent about a quarter of the report broadcasting the comments by Hillary Clinton on the visit which she made before Trump even got to Mexico City.
These CBS reports were so far from what I had heard that it made me wonder: Did CBS lose the audio of the statements? Maybe the network just did not know what had been said.
There are four key areas of interest between the USA and Mexico that were the central themes of today's meeting (at least according to the statements.) These are 1) prevention of illegal immigration; 2) dealing with the consequences of past illegal immigration; 3) trade and the NAFTA trade agreement; and 4) drugs and the drug cartels. By far, the statements made clear that trade was the most important of the subjects. We can discuss that, but let's look at what was said about the other subjects.
On dealing with the drug trade there was clear agreement. Both Trump and the Mexican president talked about working together to eliminate or at least reduce the flow of drugs and to shut down the cartels. There was no conflict of any sort, just agreement.
On prevention of illegal immigration Trump talked about the right to build a wall on the border. Nothing was said by the Mexican president to contradict Trump on that point. Indeed, the president recognized the right of any country to control its own borders.
When it came to dealing with the consequences of past illegal immigration, both men tried to finesse the subject. Trump talked a great deal about illegals coming from Central America on a very dangerous journey across Mexico to the USA. The Mexican president echoed those sentiments. Trump did not discuss much about deporting illegals from the USA. While the Mexican did not discuss that issue directly, he did talk about the big contributions that Mexican citizens make to the USA. It was as close as the two came to a disagreement.
Finally, we get to trade and economic matters. Trump has been saying throughout his campaign that the USA should either renegotiate the NAFTA treaty or else pull out of it. NAFTA, of course, is the trade deal signed by Bill Clinton about 20 years ago which Hillary Clinton strongly supported at the time. Trump says that it gives Mexico unfair advantages and that America needs to be treated equally. The most important thing that the president of Mexico said today is that NAFTA could be improved to benefit both countries. Translating that into English, the Mexicans were saying that they are prepared to renegotiate the NAFTA treaty. That is a big first step and a big victory for Trump. Unlike Hillary Clinton who accomplished nothing in office, Trump has already gotten an initial concession from Mexico before he even gets elected. This was the opening of negotiations, not a final deal. Still it is wonderful to see our country using its strength for once rather than just working out some losing deal that gives us no help.
About an hour after the joint statements were completed, I heard a "special report" from CBS News about Trump's visit to Mexico. The reporter spent three quarters of the supposed report on the visit talking about what Trump had said the day he declared his candidacy more than a year ago. She injected controversy into the visit and statements that just wasn't there. About an half hour later, the regular CBS News radio report came on. They spent half the report covering protests about the visit by interviewing one protester. They also spent about a quarter of the report broadcasting the comments by Hillary Clinton on the visit which she made before Trump even got to Mexico City.
These CBS reports were so far from what I had heard that it made me wonder: Did CBS lose the audio of the statements? Maybe the network just did not know what had been said.
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