Paying no heed to complaints from Democrats, Donald Trump met Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador face to face at the White House on July 8. This was Lopez Obrador’s first foreign trip as president, but it was widely seen by the Democrats as politically motivated.
Trump and Lopez Obrador signed a joint declaration in the Rose Garden, where they paid tribute to the American-Mexican relationship. Before signing the joint declaration, the leaders had a bilateral meeting in the Executive Mansion. Trump noted that the relationship between the two countries is closer than ever before.
Trump pointed out that the United States is home to 36 million Mexican-Americans, who make up a notable percent of small business owners. Comparing these Mexican-Americans to Lopez Obrador, the president said they are tough negotiators and great business people.
Lopez Obrador took office in Dec. 2018, and this was his first visit to the White House, as well as his first foreign trip. The Mexican president arrived on July 7 in a commercial plane and was tested for COVID-19. Lopez Obrador’s test came negative, allowing the two leaders to carry their meeting forward as planned.
Lopez Obrador went to the Lincoln Memorial and visited a statue of former Mexican President Benito Juarez. The leaders touted the USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), which was passed last week, and replaced the NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), which Trump has repeatedly criticized.
Describing NAFTA as one of history's worst trade deals, Trump noted that he was celebrating the historic victory they achieved in collaboration with Lopez Obrador a few days ago when NAFTA was terminated. The recently canceled trade deal has been replaced with USMCA, the POTUS added.
The Mexican President too deemed the agreement as a noteworthy accomplishment that will benefit all three nations and their people. The visit comprises a dinner, which will be attended by business guests from American, as well as Mexican companies. Business guests are likely to include executives and CEOs from various industries such as media companies, transportation, financial, auto, telecom, and energy.
Democrats have criticized the meeting. Comprising only Democrats, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wrote a letter, accusing the president of trying to distract the nation from what they described as a failure to lead as several states across America experience an increase in coronavirus cases. On July 7, a Trump official told Fox News that it is disappointing to see the Democrats using the meeting for political convenience.
The official said people should be proud that Trump and Lopez Obrador have the relationship, adding that even they have to deal with the challenges faced by the American people during these times. According to the official both Trump and the Mexican President have been fairly successful in terms of dealing with these unprecedented challenges.