Trump to visit Mexico ahead of immigration speech

PanARMENIAN.Net - Donald Trump is jetting to Mexico City on Wednesday, August 31 for a meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, just hours before he delivers a high-stakes speech in Arizona to clarify his views on immigration policy, The Washington Post reports citing people in the United States and Mexico familiar with the discussions.

Peña Nieto last Friday invited both Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to visit Mexico, his office said in a statement provided to The Washington Post on Tuesday night.

Trump, sensing an opportunity, decided over the weekend to accept the invitation and push for a visit this week, according to the people familiar with the discussions.

Late Tuesday, Trump and the Mexican president confirmed that they will be meeting Wednesday.

“I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted Tuesday night. Shortly later, Peña Nieto’s office tweeted that “El Señor” Donald Trump has accepted the invitation and will meet Wednesday privately with Peña Nieto.

The visit comes after Trump has wavered for weeks on whether he will continue to hold his hard-line positions on the central and incendiary issue of his campaign, in particular his call to deport an estimated 11 million immigrants who are living in the United States illegally.

Trump is scheduled to hold fundraisers Wednesday morning in California and deliver his immigration speech in the evening at the Phoenix Convention Center. His trip to Mexico would come between his events, AP says.