Mexican president may scrap Trump meeting over wall: report

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is rethinking his scheduled meeting with President Trump next week, according to a new report.

Peña Nieto may scrap the planned Jan. 31 huddle because of Trump’s executive order authorizing the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Associated Press said Wednesday.

The AP confirmed with a Mexican official in Mexico City that Peña Nieto is “considering” cancelling the rendezvous. 

{mosads}The Mexico News Daily, meanwhile, reported Wednesday that Trump’s border wall order sparked fierce backlash among Mexican lawmakers.

The National Action Party’s Margareta Zavala called Trump’s order “an offense to Mexico” ahead of Peña Nieto’s trip.

Jorge Castaneda, who served as secretary under former Mexican President Vicente Fox, also blasted the measure Wednesday.

“This is an insult to those Mexican officials, to the president of Mexico and to all Mexicans,” he said, referencing two Mexican officials who met Trump administration staff on Wednesday.

“It’s a way of making them negotiate under threat, under insults, and it should lead Peña Nieto to cancel his trip next week,” Castaneda added during a television interview. “Peña [Nieto] is a weak president in a weak country at a weak moment, but he has to find a way to get some official backbone.”

Mexican Foreign Affairs Secretary Luis Videgaray and Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal visited the White House Wednesday, meeting with several top Trump administration officials.

Trump signed an executive order that same morning directing federal agencies to begin construction of a wall along the United States’ southern border.

The president has repeatedly vowed Mexico will fund the structure, but admitted during an ABC News interview Wednesday that U.S. funds are necessary for beginning its construction.

“I’m just telling you there will be a payment,” he said. “As soon as we can. As soon as we can physically do it.”

“I would say in months,” Trump added when pressed on a timeline for building the barrier. “Certainly planning is starting immediately.”

Peña Nieto, meanwhile, has frequently insisted Mexico will not fund Trump’s wall, saying on Jan. 14 the plan “goes against our dignity as a country.”