Mexican president's visit to White House postponed after testy Trump call
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto postponed plans for the Mexican leaderâs first visit to the White House  after a testy phone call involving Trumpâs push for a border wall  a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.
Mexican officials had been talking about a summit between  Trump  and Pena Nieto in the next few weeks  without specifying when.
The Washington Post  which first reported the delay earlier on Saturday  said the two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes on Tuesday. But the discussion led to an impasse when  Trump  would not agree to publicly affirm Mexicoâs position that it would not fund construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A Mexican official said  Trump  lost his temper during the conversation  the newspaper reported. But it said U.S. officials described  Trump  as frustrated and exasperated  because he believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to want him to back off his campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.
Mexicoâs foreign ministry said it had nothing to say about the call  other than a statement on Tuesday that said  Trump  had expressed condolences for a helicopter crash in Mexico and both sides had committed to advancing the bilateral agenda of trade  migration and security.
The wall  a key item for  Trumpâs  political base of supporters  has become a sticking point in talks to keep alive a federal program that protects from deportation young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.
In his latest budget proposal to Congress   Trump  requested $23 billion for border security  most of it for building the wall.
Pena Nieto  who met  Trump  in July on the sidelines of a G20 summit  canceled an earlier meeting after  Trump  threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall.  Trump  also met the Mexican president once during the 2016 election campaign.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President  [TGT]  and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto postponed plans for the Mexican leaderâs first visit to the White House  after a testy phone call involving Trumpâs push for a border wall  a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.
Mexican officials had been talking about a summit between  Trump  and Pena Nieto in the next few weeks  without specifying when.
The Washington Post  which first reported the delay earlier on Saturday  said the two leaders spoke for about 50 minutes on Tuesday. But the discussion led to an impasse when  Trump  would not agree to publicly affirm Mexicoâs position that it would not fund construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A Mexican official said  Trump  lost his temper during the conversation  the newspaper reported. But it said U.S. officials described  Trump  as frustrated and exasperated  because he believed it was unreasonable for Pena Nieto to want him to back off his campaign promise of forcing Mexico to pay for the wall.
Mexicoâs foreign ministry said it had nothing to say about the call  other than a statement on Tuesday that said  Trump  had expressed condolences for a helicopter crash in Mexico and both sides had committed to advancing the bilateral agenda of trade  migration and security.
The wall  a key item for  Trumpâs  political base of supporters  has become a sticking point in talks to keep alive a federal program that protects from deportation young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children.
In his latest budget proposal to Congress   Trump  requested $23 billion for border security  most of it for building the wall.
Pena Nieto  who met  Trump  in July on the sidelines of a G20 summit  canceled an earlier meeting after  Trump  threatened to impose a tax on Mexican imports to pay for the wall.  Trump  also met the Mexican president once during the 2016 election campaign.