The popularity of Donald Trump pinatas has grown along with his anti-immigrant rhetoric. (Photo: Amy Osborne/SF Chronicle)
Mar 07, 2016
Rebuking claims made by Donald Trump, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday said that, in fact, his country will not pay for the proposed wall that the Republican presidential frontrunner has vowed to build along the United States' southern border.
In an interview published at the Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Pena Nieto was asked if there was a "scenario" under which Mexico would pay if Trump won the presidency. "There is no scenario," he responded. "I have to say that I regret [the plan], and of course, I can't agree with this American politician's position."
Pena Nieto went on to denounce the faux-populism of Trump's campaign, which he attacked for positing "very easy, simple solutions to problems that are obviously not that easy to solve."
"And there have been episodes in human history, unfortunately, where these expressions of this strident rhetoric have only led to very ominous situations in the history of humanity," Pena Nieto continued. "That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis. And I think what [they] put forward ended up at what we know today from history, in global conflagration."
"We don't want that happening anywhere in the world," the Mexican president added.
Coincidentally, both Trump's notorious "wall" as well as Nazi motifs were present at the frontrunner's rally in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, as Jezebel's Aimee Lutkin pointed out.
\u201cOmg. Trump's Wall is literally at his rally. #FloridaPrimary\u201d— Ward Wyatt (@Ward Wyatt) 1457205665
\u201cDonald Trump makes members of his Orlando crowd raise their right hands and swear to vote in the primary.\u201d— Jenna Johnson (@Jenna Johnson) 1457212721
In a separate interview with El Universal on Monday, Pena Nieto said that Trump's comments--which include allegations that most Mexican immigrants are drug dealers and "rapists"--are "damaging" to U.S.-Mexico relations.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox also told reporters last week that he's "not going to pay for that fucking wall." Adding, "He should pay for it. He's got the money."
In addition to drawing the ire of Mexico's leaders, Trump's comments have also reportedly inspired a rush of Latino immigrants to register for naturalization so that they may cast a vote against him.
"People who are eligible are really feeling the urgency to get out there," Tara Raghuveer, deputy director of the immigrant rights coalition National Partnership for New Americans, told the New York Times. "They are worried by the prospect that someone who is running for president has said hateful things."
Meanwhile, a number of foreign diplomats have reportedly voiced concern over Trump's ascendance, which officials described as being "highly unusual...in the midst of a presidential campaign."
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Rebuking claims made by Donald Trump, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday said that, in fact, his country will not pay for the proposed wall that the Republican presidential frontrunner has vowed to build along the United States' southern border.
In an interview published at the Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Pena Nieto was asked if there was a "scenario" under which Mexico would pay if Trump won the presidency. "There is no scenario," he responded. "I have to say that I regret [the plan], and of course, I can't agree with this American politician's position."
Pena Nieto went on to denounce the faux-populism of Trump's campaign, which he attacked for positing "very easy, simple solutions to problems that are obviously not that easy to solve."
"And there have been episodes in human history, unfortunately, where these expressions of this strident rhetoric have only led to very ominous situations in the history of humanity," Pena Nieto continued. "That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis. And I think what [they] put forward ended up at what we know today from history, in global conflagration."
"We don't want that happening anywhere in the world," the Mexican president added.
Coincidentally, both Trump's notorious "wall" as well as Nazi motifs were present at the frontrunner's rally in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, as Jezebel's Aimee Lutkin pointed out.
\u201cOmg. Trump's Wall is literally at his rally. #FloridaPrimary\u201d— Ward Wyatt (@Ward Wyatt) 1457205665
\u201cDonald Trump makes members of his Orlando crowd raise their right hands and swear to vote in the primary.\u201d— Jenna Johnson (@Jenna Johnson) 1457212721
In a separate interview with El Universal on Monday, Pena Nieto said that Trump's comments--which include allegations that most Mexican immigrants are drug dealers and "rapists"--are "damaging" to U.S.-Mexico relations.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox also told reporters last week that he's "not going to pay for that fucking wall." Adding, "He should pay for it. He's got the money."
In addition to drawing the ire of Mexico's leaders, Trump's comments have also reportedly inspired a rush of Latino immigrants to register for naturalization so that they may cast a vote against him.
"People who are eligible are really feeling the urgency to get out there," Tara Raghuveer, deputy director of the immigrant rights coalition National Partnership for New Americans, told the New York Times. "They are worried by the prospect that someone who is running for president has said hateful things."
Meanwhile, a number of foreign diplomats have reportedly voiced concern over Trump's ascendance, which officials described as being "highly unusual...in the midst of a presidential campaign."
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Rebuking claims made by Donald Trump, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Monday said that, in fact, his country will not pay for the proposed wall that the Republican presidential frontrunner has vowed to build along the United States' southern border.
In an interview published at the Mexican newspaper Excelsior, Pena Nieto was asked if there was a "scenario" under which Mexico would pay if Trump won the presidency. "There is no scenario," he responded. "I have to say that I regret [the plan], and of course, I can't agree with this American politician's position."
Pena Nieto went on to denounce the faux-populism of Trump's campaign, which he attacked for positing "very easy, simple solutions to problems that are obviously not that easy to solve."
"And there have been episodes in human history, unfortunately, where these expressions of this strident rhetoric have only led to very ominous situations in the history of humanity," Pena Nieto continued. "That's how Mussolini got in, that's how Hitler got in, they took advantage of a situation, a problem perhaps, which humanity was going through at the time, after an economic crisis. And I think what [they] put forward ended up at what we know today from history, in global conflagration."
"We don't want that happening anywhere in the world," the Mexican president added.
Coincidentally, both Trump's notorious "wall" as well as Nazi motifs were present at the frontrunner's rally in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, as Jezebel's Aimee Lutkin pointed out.
\u201cOmg. Trump's Wall is literally at his rally. #FloridaPrimary\u201d— Ward Wyatt (@Ward Wyatt) 1457205665
\u201cDonald Trump makes members of his Orlando crowd raise their right hands and swear to vote in the primary.\u201d— Jenna Johnson (@Jenna Johnson) 1457212721
In a separate interview with El Universal on Monday, Pena Nieto said that Trump's comments--which include allegations that most Mexican immigrants are drug dealers and "rapists"--are "damaging" to U.S.-Mexico relations.
Former Mexican President Vicente Fox also told reporters last week that he's "not going to pay for that fucking wall." Adding, "He should pay for it. He's got the money."
In addition to drawing the ire of Mexico's leaders, Trump's comments have also reportedly inspired a rush of Latino immigrants to register for naturalization so that they may cast a vote against him.
"People who are eligible are really feeling the urgency to get out there," Tara Raghuveer, deputy director of the immigrant rights coalition National Partnership for New Americans, told the New York Times. "They are worried by the prospect that someone who is running for president has said hateful things."
Meanwhile, a number of foreign diplomats have reportedly voiced concern over Trump's ascendance, which officials described as being "highly unusual...in the midst of a presidential campaign."
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