Today, Donald Trump is headed to Mexico, a country that he has repeatedly insulted on the campaign trail, to meet with the country’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto.
Mexican political leaders have been remarkably blunt about how they feel about The Donald’s bigotry and insults. In fact, Trump’s bigoted rhetoric has drawn the strong condemnation of Mexico’s three most recent presidents. Peña Nieto has previously compared Trump’s candidacy to the rise of fascist dictators Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Peña Nieto’s immediate predecessor Felipe Calderon has gone even further, saying Trump is “exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time.” And this morning on CNN’s New Day, former Mexican President Vicente Fox said that Trump “is not welcome to Mexico…We don’t like him. We don’t want him. We reject his message.”
And about that wall? Calderon has said, “we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall!” Fox was even clearer: “I am not going to pay for that [expletive] wall.”
MEXICAN LEADERS ON DONALD TRUMP
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto compared Donald Trump to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. “Asked about Trump, Peña Nieto complained to the Excelsior newspaper about ‘these strident expressions that seek to propose very simple solutions’ and said that sort of language has led to ‘very fateful scenes in the history of humanity.’ ‘That’s the way Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived,’ he said.” [The Washington Post, 3/7/16; Excelsior, 3/7/16]
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon compared Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler. “‘This logic of praising the white supremacy is not just anti-immigration,’ Calderon said. ‘He is acting and speaking out against immigrants that have a different skin color than he does, it is frankly racist and [he is] exploiting feelings like Hitler did in his time,’ Calderon said.” [The Guardian, 2/27/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox said Donald Trump reminded him of Adolf Hitler. FOX: “He [Donald Trump] says he’s going to bring back America to what it was? That’s crazy. Never before America, the United States, was so big, so strong, so powerful, so successful as it is today. He’s going to take that nation back to the old days of conflict, war and everything. I mean, he reminds me of Hitler the way he’s starting to speaking.” [CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, 2/26/16]
Former Mexican President Felipe Calderon: “Mexican people, we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall!” “‘Mexican people, we are not going to pay any single cent for such a stupid wall! And it’s going to be completely useless,’ Calderon said.” [CNBC, 2/8/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox: “I am not going to pay for that f*cking wall.” Maria Bartiromo: “Which is why he thinks he’s going to be successful and Mexico is going to pay for the wall because he knows Mexico needs the U.S. when it comes to trade just the way the U.S. needs Mexico. Vincente Fox: “I have to say, we are not, I am not going to pay for that f*cking wall. I am not. And he should know that.” [Fox Business’s Mornings with Maria, 2/26/16]
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox: The U.S. “is going to fail if it goes into the hands of a crazy guy.” “Slamming Trump’s anti-immigration rhetoric and his campaign promise of building a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border, Fox urged Hispanics to ‘open their eyes.’ ‘Please, you Hispanics, Latinos in the U.S., open your eyes. It’s not to defend our race. Not to defend our creed. It’s to defend this very same nation that is hosting you. This nation is going to fail if it goes into the hands of a crazy guy,’ warned the former Mexican commander-in-chief.” [Fusion, 2/26/16]
Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade remarked on ‘all the good things that Secretary Clinton has constructed for Mexico.’ Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade: ‘Basically we’re wanting in this meeting to convey all the gratitude that we have for all the good things that Secretary Clinton has constructed for Mexico for the relationship. It’s a good time to take stock, it’s a good time to look where we are and what we can construct with her successor. But we basically wanted to thank her for what she has done for Mexico. She is very important and well loved.’ [Remarks with Mexican Foreign Secretary Jose Antonio Meade, state.gov, 1/30/13]