Donald Trump says he didn't "choke" on getting Mexico to pay for wall
Republican nominee Donald Trump insisted that he didn’t “choke” on getting Mexico to pay for the wall he’s promised to build on the southern border.
Trump is referring to a statement Clinton made last week following his last-minute visit with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto in the country’s capital. At a rally, she said Trump had “choked” when he failed to discuss who was paying for the wall during his meeting with the Mexican president.
“So let me just tell you about choking. I don’t choke,” Trump said Tuesday morning on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” “She chokes. Look at the deals she’s made,” he said of Clinton. “She’s responsible for so many bad things that have happened to our country, including the signing by her husband of NAFTA, which has drained our country of its jobs. I’ve been given A-plus, including by you people -- I have been given A-pluses for the job I did in Mexico.”
During a press conference in Mexico, Trump initially described the meeting with Pena Nieto as “excellent” and maintained that they did not talk about who was picking up the bill for the wall.
After Trump had left, however, Pena Nieto said that at the beginning of their meeting he made it clear to Trump that Mexico would not pay for the wall.
A few hours later, the GOP nominee insisted during his immigration speech in Arizona, saying that Mexico would “100 percent” pay for the wall, though “they don’t know it yet.” Trump, in his interview with ABC News’ David Muir, reiterated that it’s Mexico that will be paying.
“And the fact is Mexico will pay for the wall. It was discussed that it wouldn’t be discussed, but they know my stance, and I know their stance,” Trump said. “And until I’m president, I’m not going to press anything very much, but they fully know my stance. My stance is we’re going to build a wall, and Mexico’s going to pay for the wall. It’s very simple.”
Clinton, in a separate ABC News interview that also aired on Tuesday, said more about the fact that Trump didn’t bring up the bill for the wall.
“He didn’t raise it, so he did choke. He didn’t know how to even communicate effectively with a head of state. And I think that’s a pretty clear outcome from that trip.”