NEW YORK, NY — In what one source close to the Trump campaign referred to as a “preview of what top leadership in a Trump cabinet could look like,” Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani will accompany Donald J. Trump to his Wednesday meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto.
“Rudy and Sessions have really become Mr. Trump’s most trusted surrogates,” the source said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press on behalf of the campaign. “If you think about it, that’s the beginnings of a dream cabinet for any American who’s concerned about national security and law and order.”
Peña Nieto invited both the Trump and Clinton campaigns to meet with him, but only Mr. Trump has accepted the invitation at this point.
“I have accepted the invitation of President Enrique Pena Nieto, of Mexico, and look very much forward to meeting him tomorrow,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
Mr. Trump has consistently said that he will build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, and that Mexico will pay for it.
“It’s an easy decision for Mexico: make a one-time payment of $5-10 billion to ensure that $24 billion continues to flow into their country year after year,” Mr. Trump says on his campaign website.
Peña Nieto has responded by saying that he does not see that as a viable option.
“There is no way that Mexico can pay [for] a wall like that,” he told CNN earlier this summer. He has also compared Mr. Trump’s rhetoric to that of fascist dictators, including Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini.
But in spite of the past war of words — and security concerns from the Secret Service — the Trump campaign views the meeting as an opportunity for a “power play… like he’s already negotiating on behalf of America.”
The meeting also comes at a time when the Trump campaign is seeking to clarify its immigration position. After roughly a year on the campaign trail as an immigration hardliner, Mr. Trump seemed to soften his stance a bit in recent weeks. Mr. Trump will deliver a highly-anticipated, immigration-focused speech in Phoenix, Arizona, later on Wednesday, after meeting with the Mexican president.
The Clinton campaign responded to news of the meeting by criticizing Mr. Trump for his past comments.
“From the first days of his campaign, Donald Trump has painted Mexicans as ‘rapists’ and criminals and has promised to deport 16 million people, including children and U.S. citizens. He has said we should force Mexico to pay for his giant border wall,” Clinton communications director Jennifer Palmieri said in a statement. “He has said we should ban remittances to families in Mexico if Mexico doesn’t pay up. What ultimately matters is what Donald Trump says to voters in Arizona, not Mexico, and whether he remains committed to the splitting up of families and deportation of millions.”
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